The Great Thief

After Lu Li arranged the defence, he began to direct the players who managed to reach the Mage Tower.

It seemed like there were always more snakes to fight. This was partially because they were so densely packed, and were also being constantly spawned. Occasionally, a bundle of snakes would fall from the tower, harassing the players.

This was the last of the three Bosses, and the initial phase wasn’t going so well.

This was because Lu Li had ignored that most people had a fear of snakes. As such, when a bundle of snakes fell from above, many players would try to avoid it, breaking their formation.

No matter how Lu Li commanded them, it wasn’t effective.

“Those who are afraid of snakes, retreat into the cave. Swap with those who aren’t,” Water Fairy suggested to Lu Li. When he heard it, he thought it was a good idea and conveyed it to the players.

It turned out that almost all of them were girls.

“I saw some guys running from the snakes too. Why aren’t you guys leaving? If you don’t leave now, don’t blame me later for deducting your points,” Lu Li said.

The male players who were also afraid of snakes almost cried.

The Boss had asked everyone who were afraid of snakes to leave. But which of the men would want to embarrass themselves like that? Naturally, it was only the female players that were willing to leave.

After this, no one ran away anymore, even if they were scared. Those male players just grit their teeth and fought through it.

The players that were in the cave continued the suffer because they couldn’t just retreat. All they could do was run into their deaths in wave after wave.

After all, Paladins had Invulnerability, Thieves had Gale Steps and Mages had Ice Block. After Ice Block, a Mage could even blink into the crowd of Ruling Sword players.

However, would a defence arranged by Lu Li be so easy to break through?

Of course not!

When they appeared among the Ruling Sword players, they were greeted by a group of Warriors casting Trample and Whirlwind. After the crowd-control, there were further waves of area of effect skills. Those that blinked in couldn’t do anything but die. Their only purpose was to provide some time for those behind them.

“Push them back.”

Wandering wasn’t participating in the battle, but stood behind them and watched.

When some of these Gangnam-Royal-affiliated players rushed in, it was he who ordered the Warriors to act. The Warriors didn’t retreat after killing the players, but instead pushed ahead into the enemies who were flooding in.

The biggest advantage of defending this cave was that the entrance was small, so both sides couldn’t commit many players to the fight.

Ruling Sword had deliberately chosen favourable terrain. The enemy could only see them after turning the corner, so they couldn’t have their skills prepared while Ruling Sword waited for them.

The players that tried to rush in were soon slaughtered and the hope that they had was now gone.

“Whatever, we need to withdraw. The makes things too difficult and our players aren’t strong enough. Even if we keep dying, the compensation we’re receiving isn’t enough,” the person leading the team messaged Heart of War.

Heart of War was of course angry. He looked through all of their subordinate clubs but his control over them had weakened.

Their existence created a huge influx of money which profited the club executives, but this also brought a serious adverse effect. His control at the top had been diluted and doing something like changing a subordinate guild’s leader required a board meeting.

Their authority was also being questioned and their subordinates did whatever they thought was right.

Before the changes, an order was an order. It was to be carried out no matter what, even if the costs were not worth it. They didn’t think about themselves, and there was no place for a board of directors.

Heart of War was helpless. All he could do was brace himself as he sent out the elite players.

When the other clubs saw this, they immediately dismissed the idea of sending their own players to further investigate. After all, they were so small compared to Gangnam Royals, so it was best left to them.

At this time, Lu Li didn’t know that a strong enemy had arrived. He was busy commanding his own guild’s elites to enter the Mage Tower.

After entering the Mage Tower, the monsters they fought were no longer the Snake Valley snakes. Instead they were all ghost monsters – the magic minions of Allistarj.

However, when they were faced with the dazzling light of the talisman, it was like they were being shocked by electricity. They would flee into the corners where there was no place to run.

“Despicable Thief, you stole my baby, my treasure. Great Demon King Rakh’likh, please forgive your servant for he couldn’t protect your treasure!” Archmage Allistarj screamed from the top of the tower. Apparently, he already knew who stole his talisman.

Without the ghosts bothering them, they were able to smoothly enter the Mage Tower.

The Ruling Sword players outside also withdrew into the Mage Tower. The ghosts returned to their normal state as Lu Li left the area and would help Ruling Sword any enemies that were coming through this way.

When they finally reached the laboratory, Lu Li finally saw the Mage in the white robe.

Allistarj was said to be have been a member of the Dalaran before becoming a Demon Mage. He had studied magic for many years in that country. Unfortunately, his limited talent meant that all he could do was serve the geniuses that were there.

If it weren’t for the incident with his teacher, he probably wouldn’t have spent his life safely and securely in Dalaran.

His teacher – the book that Lu Li read didn’t mention the teacher’s name – was an old Mage. This old Mage and Allistarj were similar in that they were at the bottom of the pecking order.

Although this Mage was old, his heart was not. In order to pursue more strength, he began to study forbidden magic.

This so-called forbidden magic was not something that could be casually studied. Azshara had learnt from the mistakes of his predecessor and found this behaviour abhorrent. As such, they tied the old Mage to a copper pillar and burned him alive.

The reasoning was that this would serve as an example for the other Mages, and prevent them from committing similar crimes.

However, the forbidden magic opened up a new world for Allistarj. He found the notes which recorded all the old Mage’s research and the relics that he dealt with.

Allistarj then left the city of magic, and began a life as a wandering mage.