The Great Thief

“There’s news stating that five pieces of land will be given out by the system. Darkshore, Stranglethorn Valley, the Barrenlands, Tanaris and Westfall are all being released. What are your plans?” Water Fairy asked as she sat down beside Lu Li during the break.

The news couldn’t be fake since it even mentioned the name of the maps.

Five locations in one go seemed like a lot, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy each of the major clubs. Maps were limited after all, and the earlier they obtained a Stronghold, the greater the advantage they would have.

“Darkshore is near us; we can’t have others resting so close to us,” Lu Li said without hesitation.

The reason was fair, and Darkshore was also a resourceful location. The long seashore was an ideal as a tourist attraction and a fishing spot. The seafood resources were abundant and the minerals and herbs in the would also provide Ruling Sword a lot of profit.

Of course, beside Westfall, all the other lands were resourceful places, especially Stranglethorn Valley – that was the best location amongst all right now. It was even better than Ruling Sword’s Grey Valley land.

“I’m planning to take down Westfall,” Water Fairy said.

“Stranglethorn Valley is better, but… alright. That place isn’t too good for development,” Lu Li muttered as he locked his brows in deep thought.

Stranglethorn Valley was indeed the best spot, but it was also because of the same reason that it drew all the attention to itself. Even if a guild was to obtain it, they would have to face ongoing attacks each week from all their competitors.

“The competition for Westfall would probably be less fierce. We can take down Westfall first, and if we want to press on, we can attempt Stranglethorn Valley then. If we want to back away, we can develop into the maps near Stormwind City. Elwynn Forest will become Drizzle Court’s main base,” Water Fairy explained.

“What if Glory Capital take down Stranglethorn Valley?” Lu Li asked.

The Barrenlands sounded like a wasteland, but it was still a good place for the players. There were resources there and it could support a high-density population. It was also backed against Durotar and as the top of the Horde faction, there was no reason why Glory Capital wouldn’t claim it for themselves.

Unknowingly, there was a hint of envy in Lu Li’s tone as he remarked, “If they don’t want to fight against Ruling Sword, giving up the Barrenlands for Stranglethorn Valley is a good choice. Others are afraid of the challenges that they might face if they took down Stranglethorn Valley, but Glory Capital has never been afraid of challenges.”

How could the Barrenlands even compete against Stranglethorn Valley!

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just Glory Capital,” Water Fairy laughed gently. “It’s been so many years, climbing over mountains that seem to be impossible again and again. Fighting against Glory Capital is just a matter of time. I’ve been waiting for this day for too long.”

Lu Li was stunned; he wasn’t sure where Water Fairy got her confidence from.

This was a Water Fairy that he had never seen before. She brimmed with confidence and determination and was not afraid of challenges. These were rare qualities for a girl.

Perhaps this was what made Water Fairy so attractive.

Lu Li had lived with the three lady landlords before and even now he kept in contact with them. Every now and then, they would come by to visit Lu Xin. All three of them were beauties, each with their own differences and could easily get any men that they wanted.

However, Lu Li had never felt any attraction towards them.

“If you need any help, just ask.”

That was all Lu Li could say in the end.

“If Glory Capital takes down the Barrenlands, you’ll be faced up against them too. Grey Valley is right next door. Aren’t you guys afraid?” Water Fairy asked.

“We are, but we can’t help it,” Lu Li said as he shook his head helplessly. “I’ve got no choice.”

Water Fairy didn’t know the weight of Lu Li’s words. From the moment of his birth, he had no choice but to press forward. It was rare for him to have an opportunity to choose his path. A lot of the time, it was fate that pressed him in the direction that he was to travel on, and all that he could do was to press on, despite not knowing what might lie ahead.

Grey Valley was the System’s reward, not a choice for him.

Once Glory Capital took the Barrenlands, the two would be neighbours and a war would only be a matter of time. Lu Li had no choice.

In fact, with his current position, if he didn’t move forward, he would be moving backwards. It just wasn’t possible to avoid confrontations. If he only brought his team to dungeons, they would eventually fall behind because of the lack of resources. They could only stand up to pursue Glory Capital.

After a short rest, they headed for the next Boss.

Before they started this dungeon, Lu Li had brought people with him to a small island to the east of Azshara. The Hydraxian Waterlords here were sworn enemies of Ragnaros. Not only could Lu Li and others obtain a fire resistance potion from the Waterlords, but they could also gain quests to put out fire.

This was important. Without this quest, the ninth Boss wouldn’t appear.

First, they had to take up two quests –’Poisoned Water’ and ‘Stormers and Rumblers’. The Poisoned Water quest was located near a lake at Corin’s Crossing, East Plaguelands. For the second quest, they had to kill Dust Stormers and Desert Rumblers.

After they had completed these two quests, they would be able to take up the next quest, ‘Eye of the Emberseer’. Then, they would be able to form a team to kill the first Boss, which was a Fire Elemental. The Boss would drop a quest item that they would need to return. This would lead them to the next quest, ‘Molten core’, which required them to kill one of each of the following: Molten Core Giant, Flamelord, Corehound and Lava Surger.

The next quest would be “Agent of Hydraxis”.

This was a quest for boosting Reputation. Killing the monsters in the Molten Core would increase the reputation for the Hydraxian Waterlords. Once their Reputation reached a certain level, they would be able to take up the next quest –’Hands of the Enemy’.

This would require the team to head to the Molten Core and obtain the Hand of Shazzrah, Hand of Lucifron, Hand of Gehennas and Hand of Sulfuron. These were quest items dropped by the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 7th Bosses. After completing this, they could then head back to the NPC and as a reward, would obtain a Dark Gold grade ring with Fire Resistance attributes. They would also obtain a “Water Essence” on top.

The Water Essence was used to put out the fire in the centre of the Molten Core. All eight Bosses before had a fire-type magic symbol near them, which could be extinguished with the Water Essence.

These quests were handled by Hachi Chan and the team that she led. Lu Li never asked about it; he was sure that she could accomplish her mission.

After these symbols were extinguished, the ninth boss, Majordomo Executus, would be summoned.

If Lu Li didn’t bring the others straight to the Hydraxian Waterlords, finding this quest would take some time too. The most effective way was to ask the NPCs in the main cities. However, if they were unlucky, they might not even hear of anything after five days of searching.

After Ragnoras was summoned, he didn’t have time to wander around and destroy things. Instead, he quickly entered hibernation.

Before he hibernated, he handed the Molten Core to Majordomo Executus and his troops. With his cute pet Magmadar, the two traitors of the Wind Prince, Baron Geddon and Baron Hyjal, as well as Golemagg the Incinerator, they guarded this empty underground cave together.

Under the circumstance that Ragnaros didn’t resurface, Majordomo Executus was the Boss of the Molten Core.

As a loyal servant to Ragnaros, the second-in-charge Majordomo Executus had always guarded the Molten Core and stopped intruders from disturbing his hibernating master. He was by no means an easy Boss.