The Great Thief

Amongst the few players, only two were true Trade Skill players. They weren’t worried about being attacked, but the other four were combat players, and the more average kind too.

Even so, they didn’t panic.

Just the fact that they were mining with Lu Li was enough to have them excited for the day. They could totally brag about this in the future; they had dug for rocks with their boss, Lu Li.

Now, they even had their boss protecting them!

Would this be possible in any other club?

First of all, guild leaders did not dig rocks with their subordinates, and even if they did, they wouldn’t just pick a random team either. They would be protected by a squadron of people, or else, it would be shameful if they were to be taken down by accident.

Lu Li didn’t think too much of the situation. He just felt like someone had gone into Stealth mode in his Detection range.

Regardless if these people were the intruders that Rain Like Wanderer had described, as a top Thief, Lu Li had his own pride. He couldn’t allow someone to Stealth near him and intrude his territory.

This was why he entered Stealth too, to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Quickly enough, he found his target – a Gnome Thief that was hidden in the bush beside them. His small figure allowed him to blend well with the surrounding environment.

In Dawn, Stealth could be split into two types – skill-type Stealth or physical-type Stealth.

As the name suggested, skill-type Stealth was achieved by casting the Stealth skill. This was how most players did it, while physical-type Stealth was achieved through actions to boost the effect of Stealth.

Commonly, actions such as hiding behind trees, behind rocks, or in crowds were taken to deceive their target’s senses.

The Gnome Thief was doing the same thing by hiding in the bush. By hiding in such a thick bush, it would be hard to notice him, even without casting the Stealth skill.

However, he was facing Lu Li, the person standing at the very top of the Thief class. He was playing his cards the wrong way.

He also saw Lu Li go into Stealth, but he didn’t think that Lu Li was targeting him. After all, there was a large distance between them. Perhaps Lu Li was headed to take out the two bear monsters nearby.

Lu Li conducted a slight check around his surroundings, but all he found was that one Thief.

Was this thief a master player, good enough that he could take out a team alone?

As his thoughts raced, Lu Li had already begun to act. Regardless if this player was good or bad, Lu Li never feared anyone. His dagger easily penetrated the back of the Thief’s head – a successful Cheap Shot.

The result was almost comical. The Thief didn’t even realize what had happened; there was no way he was a professional player.

Despite this, Lu Li didn’t let his guard down. If he wasn’t here to take out five people by himself, this meant that this player was a scout and soon, there would be people arriving by the intelligence that he reported back.

An average Thief couldn’t do anything to Lu Li, who was about to reach level 60.

Lu Li picked up the equipment that the Thief had dropped; it was a decent Dark Gold tier bracer. Lu Li tossed it to one of his players and said, “Sell it and share the money. I’m sure some people will be headed over soon. Take the cart and let’s go.”

Lu Li transformed into a crow and flew up.

With the scout killed, they had also exposed themselves. The enemy would soon be arriving. Lu Li could have everyone teleport back to the city too. That way, the enemies would be arriving at nothing. He himself could stay and go as he pleased, but that way, it would seem like he was too scared. If the news spread, people might view Lu Li as a weakling.

It was still daytime in game, and although Night Song Forest was a little shadier, visibility was still quite clear. Plants flourished in the area, so Lu Li could not see much from above.

However, with experience, Lu Li easily spotted the movement in the forest. He knew which direction the players were coming from and how fast they were travelling.

The enemies had arrived quickly; they weren’t faraway in the first place.

“Get ready for battle; they’ve got two teams. I won’t be able to handle all of them myself, so I’ll need your assistance,” Lu Li announced honestly. If he was out alone in the wild, it would be easy for him to hunt these players slowly by himself. It was just a matter of wisdom and patience.

However, he didn’t want to waste too much time on these insignificant figures.

Although the four combat players that he brought with him today were quite ordinary, no one that joined Ruling Sword was truly ordinary. They were at least above the normal standard of most players.

Ruling Sword was also a club guild now, so their standards weren’t any lower than other major guilds.

There two level 55 players, a level 57 and a level 58.

The level 58 was a higher-levelled player – a Hunter. The two level 55 players were both Mages and the level 57 was a Paladin.

“Boss, at your command,” the level 58 hunter said without hesitation.

What was there to be afraid of? At most, it was just a death. Not to mention, their boss was with them today and it was five against ten, so this wasn’t a problem at all.

“Paladin, go out first and let them attack you. Hunter, go take out their Druid. The other two Mages, help out and take the Druid out first.”

Naturally, Lu Li aimed for the Druid too. It was obvious that the Druid was a healer, and if they let him stay alive, the battle would be tough. After all, Lu Li hadn’t brought a healer this time.

The two teams were led by a Berserker with the ID Flying Knives. He was a player with a little bit of fame amongst some smaller circles.

This wasn’t the good kind of fame though, because he was indiscriminate with the targets he killed. Sometimes, it was just because of a slight disagreement, and other times, it was without reason.

To hunt other players all the time was no easy task. Just the equipment and potions alone would be a big amount of money.

To solve his financial issue, Flying Knives had formed a mercenary group recently and took up requests for killing.

That way, he could earn money while fulfilling his desire to PK.

Today, he picked up a big deal. The deal was counted by head as well for the reward. To Flying Knives, this was a very attractive deal. The deal didn’t even ask them to kill anyone of importance; they could even target the Trade Skill players at the lowest level.

He had already killed quite a few players and obtained quite sum of gold coins.

However, he didn’t expect an accident to occur so soon. The Thief that he had sent out to scout before had been slain and the scout couldn’t even see who did it.

Usually, Flying Knives wouldn’t touch a target that his scout can’t see. After all, regardless of the player level, as long as it was Ruling Sword player, they were worth the same price. Why not pick on the weaker ones?

The key was that the scout had dropped an equipment, and the best one on him too.

It was a Dark Gold equipment and most of the players in his mercenary group barely had any. This piece was handed down recently to the scout because he had been performing well.

Perhaps if he killed that Thief, he would be able to get the item back.

Considering that the Thief was so strong, what if he dropped something even better? Flying Knives had already discussed with the player that had given them the deal that all dropped loot during the process would belong to Flying Knives.

Whether upsetting Ruling Sword was worth it or not wasn’t a concern to him.

They weren’t the only party today that had taken action in Grey Valley. In fact, it was fair to say that Grey Valley was filled with players like him. No matter how strong Ruling Sword was, they couldn’t punish everyone. There was no way that they could track everyone down.