The Great Thief

Lu Li brought Square Root 3 to welcome Water Fairy and Soul Eater into his house in the game.

This was private property; it was more hidden than a bar and was a very suitable location for a meeting.

Opposite to them was a clear pond filled with colorful, docile fish and above them were tall maple trees. The Night Elves had casted magic upon this city and the Maple trees were constantly red.

Water Fairy didn’t wear a mask; she smiled when she saw Lu Li and didn’t seem unhappy.

Soul Eater, the guild master of Peerless City wasn’t too pleased, but he was in no position to be unhappy at all. It would be a lie to say that he had no thoughts about Water Fairy over these years, loyally following her steps.

However, he had given up when he heard about Water Fairy’s background in real life.

Then, he heard about what had happened between Water Fairy and Lu Li. At the start, he couldn’t believe his ears. Water Fairy was like a goddess to him – how could such a person be alongside any ordinary human?

In fact, there were many in Drizzle Court who had the same thoughts as he did.  ( AllNovel )

Now that the truth has been laid before his sight, Soul Eater was still slightly upset about them. Of course, he was a person of character, so there was no way he would have any bad intentions. He just wondered if he would have a chance if he was a bit braver in the past.

“Please have a seat,” Lu Li offered as he invited them in and poured some tea. He wasn’t like the other executives of the major guilds who would still hire service for private areas.

Around March next year, someone from Gale Legion would hear of a secret while they were serving tea and would sell it out. She didn’t earn much from it, but it caused a huge loss for Gale Legion. If it wasn’t for the support of Glory Capital, the loss might have been enough to kick them out of the major guilds.

“My hands are too unlucky. Sorry, Soul Eater,” Square Root 3 said, smartly pushing the responsibility to himself.

“Nonsense, no one can guarantee what they would get, and plus…” Soul Eater began, then pretended to be aggressive and continued, “Did you think Peerless City would be afraid of Ruling Sword?”

The two of them laughed and the atmosphere turned lighter.

“Because of how the competition runs in the top 8, the losing team will be eliminated,” Square Root 3 commented. “No matter if it was Peerless City or Ruling Sword, it would be a disaster to end at top 8.”

Peerless City had started a few years before Ruling Sword, but they were still trying to set down their foundation. The influence of this competition was so great; it would be very beneficial to be able to make it to the top four.

Ruling Sword’s need for the championship was even greater – they hadn’t yet reached the top after one championship. There were plenty of clubs who had won once, twice or even three times. The top clubs had plenty of championships.

However, many clubs began to lose strength after they won and gradually faded in time.

Lu Li had to use these championships to arm themselves and defeat the other clubs, so that they would gradually be recognized by the gaming industry and someday reach the top.

“We’ll battle this out; one of us will get eliminated anyway. The winner can borrow equipment from the same classes. What do you guys think?” Lu Li suggested. He brought up the idea not because he was certain about their victory, but because this was the most profitable tactic.

“Uhm…” Soul Eater turned to look at Water Fairy, unable to make a decision.

“You’re so greedy,” Water Fairy chided as she looked at Lu Li, pretending to be upset. Although she couldn’t guarantee the results of the match, everyone knew that the chances of Peerless City winning were relatively slim. After all, they had matched up before in the past.

“We’ll listen to your idea,” Lu Li said.

“We’ll do as you say. Let’s all try our best. After all, the audience will be watching,” Water Fairy agreed after thinking it through briefly.

“Even if we can’t get a trophy, at least we can earn the attention of the audience,” Soul Eater said as he smiled bitterly on the inside. Perhaps there really was no hope, but the results hadn’t been decided yet. If they could defeat Ruling Sword, it wouldn’t be any less than defeating a guild like Blood Red War Flag.

He was worried at first that Water Fairy would ask Peerless City to make way for Ruling Sword, but it seemed like he was just thinking too much. At the very least, Lu Li and Water Fairy only seemed like allies to the outside world.

The first match was in another city, so Ruling Sword had to travel to Qiantang.

The match time was in the afternoon the next day, and they would have to start travelling today if it was a long distance. However, Jiangnan was actually quite near to Qiantang. With the speed of current transport, they probably wouldn’t spend too much time on traveling. As such, Lu Li and the others decided to travel on the next day instead.

As per usual, the arrival of a team would often be welcomed by the fans in the area, followed by a media interview. If they drove, they would have to organize another location for this.

Besides the players from Ruling Sword, the plane also carried their gaming consoles.

Although players could only bind with a gaming helmet and a gaming capsule, it was rare these days for competitors to use helmets. They all had their own gaming capsules. If they were to leave, they would all carry a portable capsule with them.

It was the first time that Lu Li had participated in something like this, so he was a little bit anxious. The other competitors all had different reactions, but Moonlight was the only one who seemed calm. After all, he had been a competitor for a long time, and had probably done this too many times. Even if he had been anxious at the start, he would be numb to it by now.

The plane to Qiantang this time carried Lu Li, Square Root 3, March Rain, Kitty Likes Meat, Mu Qiu, Moonlight, Sakura Memories and Fat Monkey.

Of course, Lonesome Flower tagged along because March Rain was here.

Cat Dad also travelled with them as the coach. Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he was following because he was worried about his daughter.

The plane only remained for about an hour in the air before landing. The airport was particularly packed today and the tourists asked around before they heard about the event.