The Great Thief

Claymore of Unholy Might – this was a two-handed broadsword that was purchased at a low price by Her Tears.

Actually, he had a better weapon. However, as someone who was crazy about PVP and often charged headfirst into battle, dropping items was a frequent occurrence for him. This would be his backup weapon, and one that was quite powerful.

Next, there were two T3 Belts, one pair of shoes and one set of shoulders. There were four T3 items in total.

The item drop rates for First Clears were boosted. If it wasn’t for it being a First Clear, then it was likely that there would only be four T3 items, despite it being a top-tier level 60 Instance Dungeon.

“There’s something that I want to talk to you about,” Square Root Three said to Lu Li. “It’s about this afternoon’s competition.”

“What’s up? There shouldn’t be problems with the competition in the afternoon, right?”

Lu Li didn’t understand what Square Root Three meant by that. The match was against Grand Hegemony. Although they were developing at a rapid rate, Ruling Sword had never been worried about losing to them.

“It’s Drinking Alone. They might be planning to do some underhanded stuff,” Square Root Three explained.

“I’m friends with him. Why didn’t he just approach me?”

Lu Li frowned a little. If it was someone else offering them cash to throw the match, then they could just immediately reject them. However, Drinking Alone was his friend, albeit not one that was very close with him.

“If he approached you right away, then there would be no turning back. He probably approached me to test the waters,” Square Root Three chuckled.

“What does that mean?” Lu Li asked.

“In the end, it’s still your decision. Based on how Grand Hegemony is now, it would be too cruel to kick them out of the top 100.”

Square Root Three clearly was not objecting against the idea of throwing the match. It wouldn’t be favourable for them if they just trampled on others either.

Lu Li didn’t know Grand Hegemony’s battle history, so he did a little bit of research to understand the situation.

They were once a top 20 club. However, they were knocked down by a number of other guilds, so their points were lagging behind. Now that they had matched up against Ruling Sword, if they lost, then it was likely that they were going to drop out of the top 100.

To avoid this, they looked for Square Root Three to ask if they could get Ruling Sword to give them a chance.

“How about this? I’ll discuss this with Drinking Alone,” Lu Li said.

They arranged for a meeting in a tavern in Stormwind City. This tavern was an establishment founded by a player. Lush and verdant vines snaked up the walls of the tavern, but the design aesthetic was also quite modern. It was well-suited to having meetings. Furthermore, the costs were rather high here, so it was not too crowded.

“Long time no see, Lu Li.”

Drinking Alone’s smile was a little forced.

After all, the purpose of this meeting wasn’t a casual hangout with friends. To think that the first time that they met, Lu Li seemed like a normal player who was just a little luckier than the others while he himself was in charge of a mega-club…

How things had changed with time. Lu Li was now one of the key figures in the whole of Dawn and the gaming industry, while his mega-club needed players to join them.

“Hope that you have been well, Drinking Alone bro.”

Lu Li didn’t know how to start the conversation, so he just went with the go-to response.

“Well, I’ll be blunt with you. Grand Hegemony has been very hardworking, but effort alone does not determine success. Sometimes, it also depends on luck. If we lose this time, then we won’t have another chance. I hope that in the upcoming match, you will go easy on us. Of course, we won’t make things difficult for you,” Drinking Alone said.

“I had a look at your match history. It was not pretty at all. I understand your situation, but this match doesn’t only affect you guys. If we lose to you, how will our reputation be affected? I hope you guys can understand this.”

Lu Li wasn’t going to budge easily, although he was making the decision for Ruling Sword.

“We don’t need you to lose. Lu Li, we’re not behind by that much. We only need to get three more points to enter the top 100. If we enter the competition and still are unlucky, then that’s on us.”

“Three points?” Lu Li was surprised.

“Well, Drinking Alone bro, are you not confident enough to get a mere three points fighting fairly?”

If they were an average club facing off against so many of the top clubs, then they would have already been eliminated. However, looking at their match history, Grand Hegemony was able to earn quite a few points and even hoped to join the top 100. This meant that they were currently quite powerful.

“If we were faced with another club, then we would at least have hope, but we’re facing you.” Drinking Alone’s tone was depressed.

According to the current competition’s rules, winning the Arena rewarded 3 points, while the group battle rewarded 6 points. As such, there were 9 points up for grabs. Ties were unlikely, so there was always one side with higher points and the other with lower points. Therefore, it was quite difficult for Grand Hegemony to take 3 points away from Ruling Sword.

From the selection of players that they had, Grand Hegemony lacked real star players.

As such, they only had a small chance at taking an Arena battle. This was assuming that Lu Li didn’t enter. However, if Lu Li was the one that they had to fight against, then it was likely that they weren’t even going to earn a single point.

As for group battles, it was hopeless. Ruling Sword’s team of Lu Li, Moonlight, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat and Mu Qiu was too much for them to handle. These players were all the cream of the crop. It was futile to try and break their defences and kill someone.

“Don’t worry about it, Brother Lu Li,” Drinking Alone said. He observed Lu Li’s expression and realised that Lu Li wasn’t objected to the idea, then quickly added, “I won’t let things be difficult for you. If we can just get three points from this match, we will be more than satisfied already.”

As he was saying this, Drinking Alone slid over a piece of paper.

Were they not going to pay with money? Lu Li was confused and read the paper. He found that it was a contract for an alliance. This contract stipulated that Grand Hegemony would give Ruling Sword 5% of their stocks.

This type of alliance was frequently seen in the gaming industry. Although a 5% stake wasn’t enough to do anything with, the money involved was quite a large sum.

This alliance would ensure that neither side would betray the other.

Normally, an alliance like this would involve the stronger side giving less, while the weaker side would give more. All in all, both sides would be gaining something. However, in this contract, Ruling Sword didn’t need to give a portion of their stocks to Grand Hegemony.

This was a one-sided contract, which would be tough to reject.