The Great Thief

Ruling Sword’s storehouse had a total of four Level Reduction Gems, and they didn’t reduce that much either. It appeared as though the game didn’t give out these sorts of gems anymore, as they clearly affected fairness.

Lu Li happily put the equipment into his backpack and continued forward.

Was he not going to retreat to safety?

None of the equipment he had on him was worth much, so why would he waste this opportunity?

The two sides duked it out for an hour before finally toppling the wall.

Players from Wings of Dawn swarmed in.

Everyone was expecting that Ruling Sword’s Fel Reavers would fall from the sky, obliterating Wing of Dawn.

The odds in the lottery were even more ridiculous than the last time when they had Fel Reavers.

Big Dog Li and Fat Monkey had made a pile of money last time, but they wouldn’t give up this opportunity to win big. It wasn’t just them – even the innocent girls Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan had been led astray.

Lonesome Flower took out two million for Fat Monkey to deal with, claiming that life had forced him to do so. After all, he had a lovely little girl to raise.

Sakura Memories also put forward money, saying that she would use her earnings to build a Yaoi content website. No one could find fault with such a far-reaching goal.

Recently, Azure Sea Breeze had been thinking about finding a girlfriend, but he also lacked money. Who knew which unlucky lottery company would have to support his love-life?

Anyway, those who were in a position to know that this battle culminated in a trade took out a stack of money to gamble with.

As for how many lottery companies went bankrupt, who cared? Besides, they had earned so much money that at the most, it would take a small bite out of their earnings. Bankruptcy was still a long way off.

Lu Li didn’t join; he had severed himself from all underground dealings.

Others gambled for so-called fun, but for these people who were on the border with the dark side, it was actually gambling. Just before his parents died, he had made a pledge, that no matter what circumstances he faced, he would never become involved in this.

In the most difficult times of his last life, he seriously thought about going back on his pledge, but it was a shame he couldn’t find a chance to.

A Stronghold battle offered a rare chance. This was basically why poor people always hit roadblocks when they were trying to strike it rich, but rich people always found it easy to multiply their wealth.

After entering into the stronghold, Lu Li started the act at the right time.

For example, as soon as Fat Monkey killed someone, he would go over to pick up dropped equipment. By the time he picked up the equipment, he would naturally be a target of focused fire and be done for.

It didn’t matter how good his acting was – he simply didn’t need to. Every time he saw someone else drop equipment, it took a mountain of effort to restrain himself.

As for Lonesome Flower, he was skilled at acting when it came to it. He actually blinked into a whole group of people to save Fat Monkey. Although he killed one, he ‘died from exhaustion,’ leaving everyone perplexed about their brotherly relationship.

Apart from March Rain, when other people were dying in front of his eyes, he didn’t even bat an eyelid.

Following along with Ruling Sword’s continual acting, the battle slowly took a different turn.

This change was extremely gradual. Ordinary players wouldn’t have been able to discern that something wasn’t right. After all, the wall had been broken, and though the defenders were just a tiny bit disorganized, they were still being reasonable.

When the tide began to turn, Lu Li issued the command to retreat. His reasoning was to regroup and then come back again before continuing to fight.

At this, Wings of Dawn entered the Stronghold. Both sides drew up their armies across the vast expanse of the Stronghold.

“No problem – the Stronghold’s only just been broken in. Ruling Sword’s got Fel Reavers. They’ve got to get the hunters in, then close the door and let the dogs loose.”

“Yeah, as soon as the Fel Reavers come out, who’s gonna be fighting then?”

“I don’t understand. Wings of Dawn are fighting so poorly against Ruling Sword – haven’t they overestimated themselves? Just because they won a competition, they think they can win a Stronghold battle easily.”

“Anyway, I always bet on Ruling Sword. I’ve earned well over 100,000 to date. I’ve never ever lost.”

“Same here – I always bet on Ruling Sword and Glory Capital, no matter if it’s a competition or a Stronghold battle.”

“What if they’re both fighting?”

“To begin with, I thought Glory Capital was better, so I would bet Glory Capital, but after I lost twice, I understood. It’s not a bad idea to bet on Ruling Sword. You have to look at the odds. If I bet for Glory Capital and win, I don’t earn much, but if I bet on Ruling Sword, I win bigger.”

“That’s right, I only trust in Ruling Sword!”

“It’s almost time. The Fel Reavers are gonna light up the stage. They’re all a man could ask for, hey.”

However, the Fel Reavers didn’t show up. No matter how much those guys who bet their wives on it prayed, Lu Li looked like he had forgotten that they had Fel Reavers.

Ruling Sword was fighting a guerilla war, killing a wave of players, then snatching their equipment and running away.

In the end, although they had worked hard to block Wings of Dawn, the central tower was still toppled, and so, with a regretful loss, Stranglethorn Vale had a new owner.

How strange!

You could only use strange to describe this battle. After the battle ended, only a few Ruling Sword people had painful expressions on their faces. Most of them looked as happy as if they had earned a Stronghold.

As for the Wings of Dawn, especially Dream 13 and Elevenless, they looked like a submissive daughter-in-law just following along.

All the way until the negotiations after the Stronghold battle, Dream 13 had switched out his energetic-looking profile. He spoke calmly on behalf of Wings of Dawn, humbly expressing that although they had defeated a strong opponent in the competition and in the Stronghold battle, they still had a long way ahead of them.

“I’ve made money, I’ve made money! I don’t even know how to spend it! I’m going to hire three pretty girls – one to sweep, one to cook, one to be the nurse…”

Fat Monkey seemed to be singing the whole time all the way to the hall of Black Sea Coast Stronghold.

“Hey, Monkey bro, come back. Boss wants you to go to the meeting room,” a Ruling Sword player informed him.

Fat Monkey stopped, made a check, and realized that Lu Li had sent him five or six messages.

“Boss wants me? Oh yeah, right, I forgot to turn on the communications. I’ll go now.”

After entering the meeting room, he noticed that there were already quite a few people there.

“Three bro, let’s start.”

Seeing Fat Monkey enter, Lu Li’s eyes sparkled.

“This is a rich man. Last time, I thought I had already bled him dry. I never thought he had earned so much that he could gamble again,” he said to himself.