The Great Thief

In the first match of the quarter finals, Ruling Sword was up against Seventh Heaven.

Lu Li quietly entered the arena like Water fairy had asked him to. In fact, not many players were concerned with the change in Lu Li’s cloak.

As for the ring, that was even less obvious.

Lucky Southern Persian, Empty, Hornet’s Nest and Vast Silence were the four experienced professional players, alongside a new player, Rainy Season. This was Seventh Heaven’s lineup.

It was simply unrealistic for a team of newbies to win in the quarter finals.

All four clubs from Peerless City, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven and Ruling Sword had sent their strongest players.

In the Magic Cup, the championship prize was not even 1 million dollars. As for the ticket revenue, only the winning team received that money; the game company and organizers took a large cut.

There was also the popularity effect, where advertisers could contact players about endorsements.

This couldn’t be measured quantitatively, and most players didn’t think you could gain much popularity in any individual match, unless you did something extraordinary like killing Lu Li or taking out Unforgettable Maple.

The map was nothing special; it was a circular arena with four symmetrically placed columns.

"Lu Li, fight me alone," Empty shouted.

He was just a Shaman, so Lu Li didn’t really understand why he wanted to single him out. However, he soon understood.

"No, you can’t fight him alone," Lucky Southern Persian also shouted.

"Why is this happening?"

The match had begun, but no one was advancing. Instead, they were just standing there and arguing. The audience was speechless, but they were familiar with Seventh Heaven’s style.

"Don’t you know how strong he is? Players that have faced him are still afraid of him," Lucky Southern Persian said as he hid behind a pillar.

"Who are they? I didn’t know Lu Li was that good. Will I be in danger?" Hornet’s Nest asked as he put on a surprised look.

"I think their name was Floral Paralysis," Lucky Southern Persian said with a smirk.

"Heavens, even Paralysis? I’m so scared now." Empty put on a weeping voice and pretended to tremble with Hornet’s Nest.

After hearing all this chatter, Lu Li almost couldn’t hold himself back from rushing over and killing these three players.

"The crazy girl must feel pretty bad; he’s lost to Lu Li twice now. I don’t know why Lu Li keeps bullying him."

This was Vast Silence speaking. She looked like a cute little girl, but it was unfortunate that she associated with Seventh Heaven because she had now been corrupted by them. She was even a very popular streamer.

"It must be love!" Empty, Hornet’s Nest and Lucky Southern Persian unanimously answered.

The newcomer, Rainy Season, probably hadn’t been with them for long and had not yet been corrupted. He was just standing around, smirking at the whole situation.

"Dammit, Southern, you’re definitely dead," Lu Li angrily shouted.

Of course, this anger was also just an illusion. Lu Li then turned his head and began to calmly instruct his team.

"Area of effect crowd-control is the most important. Monkey, you go first. Moonlight, the moment something happens, you intercept it and cast Whirlwind. I want Empty to die first."

"What if they just hide behind the pillars and never come out?" Monkey was rash, but not a fool.

"They’re just as worried of us doing the same thing. What do you think they’re doing right now?" Lu Li asked as he looked at Lucky Southern Persian carefully.

The two sides held back for a while before Seventh Heaven decided to take the first shot.

If neither side attacked, the System would determine the victor by percentage-HP remaining. Lu Li’s team had Fat Monkey and Moonlight, alongside himself to deal a high amount of burst in the last moment.

A battle quickly broke out between both sides in the arena.

The audience had seen several matches of the Magic Cup with Lu Li in it. This time, he was more decisive than ever; there was almost no retreating as they casted all their skills.

Lu Li’s goal was very clear – it was to kill the opposing Shaman Healer, Empty.

Empty was the strongest professional Shaman in Dawn. His Bloodlust was stronger than Sakura Memories’ and he could even heal. Although a Shaman’s healing skills weren’t as powerful as a Priest’s or a Druid’s, they had the strongest area-of-effect healing.

Moreover, he also had all kinds of totems that could make a significant difference in fights.

Sakura Memories was also being targeted by Lucky Southern Persian. He used Polymorph to turn her into a lamb for the first time.

March Rain wanted to save her, but she was sent away by the Fear that Hornet’s Nest used on her.

However, Fat Monkey’s instincts enabled him to land a Frost Nova on three players, which set up Moonlight’s Whirlwind to hit all three of them.

The goal target the three strongest players of Ruling Sword was Empty.

Empty soon fell, but so did Sakura Memories. Fat Monkey was now on low HP and this was only the result of the first fight.

Lu Li’s wide range of crowd control and escapes made the Seventh Heaven players curse. Lucky Southern Persian quickly regretted not making Lu Li their second target. Fat Monkey managed to get away with a slither of health which meant that March Rain could heal him.

March Rain had Gold grade healing gloves with a special effect that instantly casted the next Priest skill used.

Her powerful heals could restore more than 400 HP and when complemented with Fat Monkey’s damage reduction skills, saved his life.

In fact, it was a mistake for Lucky Southern Persian to have made Sakura Memories their first target. Although both of them had lost a Shaman, Sakura Memories was a melee fighter while Empty had healing that affected the entire team.

The reason why Lu Li had brought the lower-levelled Sakura Memories instead of Mu Qiu was to give his opponents a difficult choice.

If they didn’t attack her, she would use Bloodlust. Under its effects, Lu Li, Moonlight and Fat Monkey could kill anyone together in seconds.

On the other hand, if they did target her, Lu Li would be even happier with that outcome.

To put it simply, Sakura Memories was a weak player, but you couldn’t ignore her. However, once you killed her, you would realize that you had done more harm than good.

"Continue fighting. Kill Fat Monkey and stop them from getting away!" Lucky Southern Persian shouted. With their main healer dead, the result of both sides resting was clear.

Lucky Southern Persian, Fat Monkey and Vast Silence all had incredibly high damage output. Fat Monkey’s recently restored HP was quickly dropped back down to low again.

"Southern, what’s wrong? I treated you like an idol, but you’ve been too passionate. I don’t really swing that way," Fat Monkey said as he used the badge to remove the crowd-control before turning to escape.