The Great Thief

Lu Lu’s composition was a Thief, a Mage and a Warrior on a Mount. His strategy was also very simple – let Fat Monkey rush at him, like he often did.

When Fat Monkey started moving, so would his teammates. They would get into formation on their mounts, which was a tactic he often used. Generally, the other teams had no effective means of stopping that.

However, this time would be different. When Fat Monkey and his teammates rushed in, they would be met with a Cone of Cold.

Cone of Cold was a slowing skill that would be casted in front of the user. The more skilled the user was, the more powerful the slow they could apply. Lu Li had the better Mage on his side; he managed to hit all of his opponents.

Unlike Frost Nova, the slowing effect of the skill didn’t disappear after being attacked.

This certainly wasn’t some killer move like Whirlwind. The Warrior rushed over with Charge and began spinning wildly among the slowed opponents, dealing massive AoE damage.

Fat Monkey’s team weren’t newbies; they quickly lifted the slow and escaped the Whirlwind.

Overall, they hadn’t lost much HP, and were still relatively healthy.

However, the purpose of the Mage’s Cone of Cold and the Warrior’s Whirlwind was not to kill. They had disrupted Fat Monkey’s supporting teammates, which allowed him to freely attack.

Fat Monkey immediately rushed in, but was hit by Frost Nova and Stunned by Lu Li immediately after.

At this point, Lu Li could easily crowd-control anyone. He had at least four or five different ways to do it.

Fat Monkey also had means to lift the crowd-control, but as he did so, Lu Li could cast another on him. This quickly happened three times in succession. Lu Li wasn’t bullying him, as any other top-level Thief like Blood Dagger or Water Fairy would have done the same thing.

Lu Li’s Mage had now regrouped, and the three teammates now attacked Fat Monkey together.

In that moment, Fat Monkey’s ego crumbled.

He finally understood what Lu Li was trying to tell him – he was too easily to manipulate and if his supports were dealt with, he would be on the chopping block.

It wasn’t as though no one had told this to him before, but he had just never listened to them.

Ever since he had become a professional player, his self-confidence had been completely inflated. In his eyes, he was a bonafide star.

However, after experiencing this crushing defeat, he finally realized how far away he was from becoming one.

When he charged in and was completely crowd-controlled, it was like everything had been planned beforehand. Lu Li seemed like God when he so casually manipulated the whole situation into his favor.

His HP was emptied and he had fallen!

A Fire Mage that focused on dealing damage had very poor survivability.

The remaining members of the team didn’t stand a chance. After Fat Monkey died, they gave up and didn’t resist.

When Lu Li came out of the arena, he saw Fat Monkey sitting in silence.

He went up and gave him a kick before asking, "What’s with the long face?"

"Didn’t I just get rolled? There were three of you attacking me," Fat Monkey said as he got up with a depressed look on his face. He had big dreams, but it was like he had just woken up.

"Let’s go. We’ll continue drinking," Lu Li said.

Given the way he looked, the effect of this match had been very great. If Lu Li didn’t lighten the mood, this might negatively impact his future performance. He might even consider giving it all up.

"Are you buying?" Fat Monkey asked as he looked at him.

"I’ll buy. You’re so stingy – there are so many people who want to buy me a drink, but they don’t get a chance. Let’s go and talk, but make sure you don’t do something like this again." Lu Li was speechless.

"Boss, it’s you who’s stingy. You don’t even buy good wine. Don’t you know... Dust Dragon serves the best wine there is. It costs a few hundred for just a small bottle. When he gave me some, I thought he might as well have just paid me the money."

Fat Monkey’s emotions seemed to be unstable as he was quickly switching from topic to topic.

"Dust Dragon?" Lu Li thought for a moment.

Dust Dragon was the President of the Blood Red War Flag and the vice chairman of the Blood Red War Flag club. He was considered to be a relatively powerful figure and was said to be a retired veteran with more than ten years of military experience.

Lu Li had always admired such people. He had wanted to be a soldier in his earlier years, just like most young men who had dreams of fighting in military battles.

It was a pity that he wasn’t that kind of selfless person. His sister needed care and there was no one to entrust her to. His dream as a soldier now remained in his imagination, but his respect for the military never changed.

He had great respect for the police and even more respect for the army. He never resisted when a policeman would try to arrest him.

"Dust Dragon..."

The two went into another tavern and when Monkey Fat heard Lu Li mumbling, he sheepishly explained, "A few days ago, he found me and asked that I work with him. He offered a big sum of money..."

"Was he trying to poach you?" Lu Li was a little confused, but he wasn’t too worried. If Fat Monkey really wanted to leave, he wouldn’t have brought it up.

As for whether he had accidentally blurted it out... that was a possibility. Perhaps this guy was even trying to mislead him by pretending it was an accident. Although Fat Monkey was impulsive, he wasn’t stupid and was still a bit of a bookworm.

"He wanted me to throw a game..." Fat Monkey said with a grin. "I used to admire him before, but it turns out he’s not a good guy."

"So you’re telling me that he found you and told you to throw a game for some money?" Lu Li asked. He also thought that Dust Dragon was a good and honorable person.

"Of course not," Fat Monkey said as he poured a glass of wine for himself and for Lu Li. He took a slow sip before continuing, "It took a few days of talking before he finally revealed his intentions. What should we do about them?"

"It’s hard to tell, but you’re not a great person either," Lu Li joked.

He could imagine how the situation played out. Dust Dragon must have felt like Fat Monkey was the way in and decided to contact. He then bought him some drinks and slowly put his plan into effect.

But why would he think that Fat Monkey was the way in?

The reason was simple – although Fat Monkey had entered Ruling Sword and had become a professional player, he was not part of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Strictly speaking, the group was still made up of the original ten players.

Lu Li’s First Clears were achieved with this group, and in the eyes of the outsiders, even Fat Monkey hadn’t broken into it.

Perhaps Fat Monkey was discontent about something, but if the benefits were sufficient, he could be converted. Dust Dragon actually thought that it seemed promising at first and fell into the illusion that Fat Monkey could be bought.

However, after a few days’ worth of effort, Fat Monkey had completely laid waste to Dust Dragon’s plans.