The Great Thief

”I never thought I would be so angry!

How dare she do this to me!

When I was teaching Tyler mathematics, Tilloa came in with her suitor hand in hand!

He was just some uneducated young man.

Tilloa didn’t even introduce me properly; she just said, ”Oh, this is my tutor, uncle Stalvan. He is a good old man.”

Old man! After hearing that phrase, my face went red. I was only a few years older than she was and she actually betrayed me…

My heart felt like it had fallen into a bottomless abyss of despair. She had strung my feelings along and now she was engaged. This hateful liar pretended to fall in love with me, but she was only trying to hurt me. There is a dark feeling in my heart that grows stronger with every minute.

None of these aristocrats had anything good to offer. I didn’t like them before, but at least I thought they were good people. Now, I realize I was wrong.

I will go to Twilight Forest to settle some things, but after that, I will make her pay in blood. However, compared to the suffering I feel now, that is but a small price…”

In this cold basement, reading words of such anger and despair made them seem even worse. Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball could now conclude one thing; the family had been killed by the tutor.

After going in a big circle, they had now returned to the very beginning – the Twilight Forest.

”We’re stuck again. I think we should give it up and just re-trigger the quest in three days,” Sesame Rice Ball sighed. ”Why is my specialization quest so hard? Next time, we’ll need to bring someone lucky.”

This lucky person was Hachi Chan. As long as it was quest related, her powerful led NPCs to fall over one another to help her.

If they needed equipment, the person to bring was Remnant Dream. She had looted all kinds of exquisite equipment from elite monsters, and Lu Li had significantly benefitted from her lucky hands.

”Let’s go to Darkshire. I think someone there will give us another clue,” Lu Li suggested. He had also began to feel helpless for this quest.

However, he wasn’t someone to just give up. As long as there was still hope, he would relentlessly push on, especially if the truth was at stake.

After returning to Darkshire, Lu Li went straight into the Bloodraven Inn.

”Oh, look who’s here. Nice to meet you, my friend,” Aoriana Goldtooth said, welcoming Lu Li with open arms.

”Mr Aoriana, can you help me find this person? Also, one glass of your signature wine please. My friend has been stressed recently,” Lu Li requested after taking Sesame Rice Ball to the bar.

Sesame Rice Ball normally had an aversion to alcohol, but his depression caused him to cave in and decide to drink.

”You’re so young yet you’re stressing,” the Dwarf commented disdainfully as he poured the drinks. He also poured himself a drink, and put three glasses of wine on Lu Li’s tab.

”This is what happened…” Lu Li started as he began to share the entire process of their quest to the listening Dwarf.

”Stalvan…” Dwarf Goldtooth muttered as he stroked the letters, then continued, ”This name is very common, but I know of an unusual person who lived in the north-eastern part of the forest. He is also called Stalvan and he rarely comes into the town. There are dead ghouls everywhere where he lived; it’s hard to imagine how he does it.”

”Take us there!” Lu Li was overjoyed; this was really no effort at all.

”What’s the hurry? It’s not like he’s gonna run away,” Aoriana mused. ”He said that ’these nobles have nothing good to offer’. If he was some murderous maniac with a deep hatred for nobility… then is it possible that he has something to do with the town’s missing nobles?”

”It’s very possible,” Lu Li affirmed.

”But, we need evidence. Come, let’s go to Althea,” the tavern owner said as he moved with excitement. He ran out with Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball, leaving his tavern unattended.

Althea Ebonlocke, the commander of the Night’s Watchmen, had just returned from the outside with a team of people. It was clear they had just come back from a fight.

”Salute!” The paladins immediately drew their swords and paid their respects to Lu Li.

Even if these soldiers hadn’t personally experienced it, they had all heard of the fierce battle and Lu Li’s bravery. The most important thing was that more than a dozen players in the fifty-man team were from Ruling Sword.

They eagerly looked at Lu Li, but because of their discipline, they also naturally paid their respects.

There were more than 40 Ruling Sword players who had joined this small camp. They had integrated into the Night’s Watchmen force and almost become professional soldiers, spending hours each day following the NPCs and going out for combat patrols. This process had been difficult, but the benefits were also obvious.

They acquired good combat skills, a lot of EXP and the standard service rewards…

These players had already reached level 41 and were at the forefront of the level rankings. It was a very important hidden strength of Ruling Sword.

After exchanging formalities, Lu Li got straight to the point. He and Night’s Watchmen were alike in that they didn’t beat around the bush.

”Lord Commander, I have brought some clues about the murder case. Please have a look…”

”We’ve been pursuing this murderer for many years, ever since he killed a few visiting aristocrats some years ago. I sent someone to investigate the handwriting that was left behind by the murderer. If the print is identical, we can convict him. Call Daltry,” Althea Ebonlocke said, then appointed a soldier to quickly look for Clerk Daltry.

Daltry was called to compare the handwriting. After being in charge of the town’s archives for many years, he was very good at recognizing handwriting. He gave a positive answer shortly after comparing the two documents.

”Stalvan Mismantle is likely to be a vicious criminal. Friend, I’ll need to trouble you again and ask you to bring him here,” Althea told Lu Li.

He was just a teacher, so he wasn’t worth her time as a commander. Moreover, the System couldn’t just let her serve Lu Li’s purposes.

”It’s our pleasure. This was our quest anyway.”

The truth had finally been revealed and Lu Li was also a little excited.

”Is anyone willing to help?” Althea asked.

This, of course, was a show of their good friendship. In his previous quest, Lu Li had won the friendship of the Night’s Watchmen, so there was nothing strange about this request.

”Lord, we are willing to help,” a dozen Ruling Sword players offered as they stepped forwards.

Althea certainly didn’t object to other soldiers volunteering; she knew that her soldiers were strong and wouldn’t die easily. Even if these players died, they would be back soon anyway.