The Great Thief

“What mount is that?” someone couldn’t help but ask. From far away, he saw someone riding with a mount, but it was a giant beetle that he had never seen before. The flashy equipment the rider was wearing also made them look very imposing.

“Damn, how can you not know? Of course it’s Lu Li, the alliance chief of the three big clubs!” someone exclaimed immediately, showing how knowledgeable they were.

“What alliance chief? How come I haven’t heard of him.”

Of course he knew of Lu Li, but what was this about an alliance chief? It sounded like some kung fu movie.

“Um, this is just something we made up ourselves. In one year, Lu Li turned Ruling Sword into such a powerful club, seduced the biggest female tycoon in the game and continued on the road to sponging off her. Water Fairy has Drizzle Court and Peerless City under her name, as well as quite a few small clubs, so all together, it’s not even a three alliance chief…”

“You freakin’ know nothing. What sort of three alliance chief is the sponging off king? How can Water Fairy be married off to him?”

“It is though – it’s Water Fairy who’s married off to him. Do you think Water Fairy is still the eldest girl in the Shen family? I heard that the Shen family’s chairman recently had a big banquet, and apparently, his wife had a son. The Shen estate will be left to him in the future. If it were you, would you leave your family assets to your married-out daughter or leave it with your son?”

“Hehe, don’t take this ignorance as knowledge. Drizzle Court and Peerless City are Water Fairy’s own. Not a cent of it came from her family.”

“I heard that too. The Shen family split the gaming industry with Water Fairy.”

“You cowardly idiots, you had the face to talk about whether Lu Li was the sponging off king. This sponging off king is the best Thief in the world. He killed Sorrowless and got to where he was today all by himself. How can he be the sponging off king?”

“I’m really puzzled; why are you looking down on the sponging off king? That’s my dream life.”

“Same here. I’m not interested at all in Drizzle Court and Peerless City. If I could get Water Fairy as my wife, I’d give up three years of my life for it.”

“No, even if you let me live three years for it, I would take it!”

“You’d make her a widow in three years. How can you have the heart to do that?”

“Um, then I’d live for a few more years then. Man, what does Fairy see in him?”

“There are so many people who’re hating on Lu Li nowadays. They probably think in the same way as you. They want it but they can’t get it, and they just want to get rid of those who get what they can’t.

“Ok, stop talking nonsense, the door’s going to be opened. Are you going in or not?”

“Going in? What would I be doing? Helping them?!”

“Monsters in new maps must have pretty good drops, and I’ve heard that killing these monsters can increase your Reputation. There are two new places at the same time – the bronze dragon and the Cenarion Circle. They’ve both got Reputation that is hard to farm.”

More and more people assembled than they were dispersed. They were all looking on.

So would they actually set foot inside? Would Ruling Sword let them have a share in the glory?

It wasn’t just the audience; the clubs were also in a dilemma.

They also remembered that Lu Li said he wouldn’t enter the Instance Dungeon, but what was there behind the wall, outside the Instance Dungeon? Everyone was looking from their vantage points around the wall. Those monsters that were absolutely everywhere also had potions, and there were veins of ore which could be seen from the naked eye.

You could still rake it in even if you weren’t farming Instance Dungeons.

According to the description given by players who had received a similar quest, even the insect shells and skins that were half buried in the sand were still quest items, and they were the type you could farm again and again.

The initial quest was opening up the Instance Dungeon. As long as the first person who finished the quest rung the gong to open up the beetle wall, everyone could enter into the outside of the Instance Dungeon.

“If the bug wall gets knocked down, the bugs inside will all rush out. I feel like Ruling Sword can’t hold them,” Jade Flower Lover said, hitting the table to emphasise his point. “If they can’t hold them back, then the insects will invade all Silithus and even the neighbouring maps. By that time, Ruling Sword would be criminals. I don’t know how the NPCs will feel, but anyway, normal players will blame their own losses on Ruling Sword.”

As soon as he finished speaking, people began to rebut him.

“Little Jadey, that’s very cute, but what can the anger of ordinary players do to Ruling Sword. We’re all veterans of the game. Of course we say on the outside that normal players are the life and blood of the club, but who actually cares what they think?”

The one speaking was Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple.

Dream 13 added immediately, “Maple, sis, you’re right. No matter how bad the reputation is, as long as there’s a chance, ordinary players still scramble after joining a club.”

“If we help out, then Ruling Sword’s opening quest this time will be finished for sure,” Jade Flower Lover said sadly.

“We can’t do this, we can’t do that. What can we do then?” Lucky Southern Persian from Seventh Heaven questioned as he stood up impatiently, then coldly said, “If you can’t give a persuasive reason, then us from Seventh Heaven will do something. There are so many monsters. We can’t give all the advantage to Lu Li.”

“Even if we don’t help that damned Lu Li, more and more scattered players will join in anyway, so they’ll still be able to resist the insects,” Floral Paralysis said, receiving the latest information.

With Lu Li banging the gong, the wall of beetles gradually turned into sand that was blown away by the wind. It had blocked the insects for a thousand years and it had finally completed its role in history.

Before people could begin to feel emotional or regret, out rushed the first wave of beetles amidst the smoke and dust of the collapsing wall ruins.

“Line up!” Wandering shouted hoarsely. He was leading over 10 000 defensive players, who formed many layers of battle lines like a dog’s teeth. On one side there was a tsunami wave, and on the other, a great dam.

Both sides fiercely crashed together.

The hunters shot a dense raincloud of arrows into the sky. Under the auspices of bright circles of light, this could be said to be the start of the show of the fierce attack of the ranged units.

The insects were mostly at least level 62. No matter if it was in their defense or their health, they were more powerful than the ordinary monsters they already knew about outside.

But under this sort of arrow shower, a whole wave of insects turned into corpses.

The bugs moved terrifyingly fast. Climbing was more like scuttling across flat land for them. They quickly stepped over the corpses of their fallen comrades and edged closer to the players’ camps. At this time, the mages and other ranged units began to show off their power.

The ranged attacks of the magic roles were even stronger and more constant.

However, because defensive line wasn’t a complete blockade, there were many bugs which slipped through the cracks and rushed further and deeper. Meeting them were Berserkers, Paladins, Thieves and other melee units.

They formed a new defensive line in front of the magic units.

Modern civilization had changed how battles were written about, but the most hot-blooded form fighting was the one-on-one. The players started dying too as the white lights representing death just kept on flashing.

A player seemed to die almost every second.