The Great Thief

In more recent times, it was the equipment crafters that were the most busy. Although Ruling Sword had many people who specialised in this field and also had a stable relationship with the Life Alliance, some high-tier equipment still required the skills of particular people.

For example, Tailoring was March Rain’s field of expertise and Forging was Lu Li’s. Special tools were not easily obtained.

The aim of making all of these equips was to prepare for battle against other mega-clubs.

This was the final battle in the Top 100. Ruling Sword was met with Blood Red War Flag, a powerful opponent. After the Gangnam Royals slipped down in the rankings, Blood Red War Flag proceeded to surpass them and became a powerhouse club.

As for Ruling Sword, although they had managed to emerge as champions twice, their rank did not reflect this. This was because there were many factors that were taken into account when considering the rankings.

Blood Red War Flag had many First Clear records for Instance Dungeons. Although they couldn’t compare with Ruling Sword, they weren’t very far behind Glory Capital. As for Wild Bosses, they couldn’t compare with the numbers of Glory Capital, but the quality of the Bosses that they had killed were rather decent as well.

Only Blood Red War Flag was brave enough to directly compete with Glory Capital for Wild Bosses.

Other clubs like Seventh Heaven and Wings of Dawn would avoid fighting Glory Capital alone, unless they were in a multi-club alliance. As for Ruling Sword, Lu Li didn’t dare to confront Glory Capital either. One clash would result in at least a 3-month negative regression for the club.

Blood Red War Flag had a reputation of being strict, impartial and fearless.

During Wild Boss battles, their players were like military soldiers. They were completely obedient to orders from the commander. Lu Li dreamt of having teammates like this. However, this was something that wouldn’t be possible in a game. Everyone was here to play the game and there was no hierarchy or superiority. Only fair treatment was able to keep the club going.

This time, the arrangement of these two clubs meeting together in the Top 100 was like the last battle.

“This is the information on their new members.”

Wandering had done some investigation into Blood Red War Flag prior to the battle, so he took out some papers and handed them to everyone.

Lu Li looked over the information and did not feel the slightest bit of panic.

He had known these people from his previous life. They had appeared during the second season of the Professional League. There was a particularly skilled player whose potential was not any less than Fat Monkey’s . However, Lu Li never tried to reach out to him and recruit him to Ruling Sword.

This wasn’t a case of price, but rather, it was a tricky situation.

This player was a Thief called Biting Youth. He would have been the most popular up and coming Thief superstar if it wasn’t for Lu Li. He was a player who won against Wood Fearing and Floral Paralysis.

It was rumoured that his annual salary was $300,000. This was even lower than what Lu Li gave those newbies at Judgment Spear!

This wasn’t just a low price – it was a bargain.

As for why Ruling Sword couldn’t recruit him, it was because he only wanted to join Blood Red War Flag. His dedication to joining Blood Red War Flag was so strong that he would complete free labour for them, instead of accepting any amount of money from other clubs.

This was extremely rare in the gaming industry.

Biting Youth didn’t have any mental problems. He was an ex-military soldier.

He had retired from the military in August. Before entering the military, he was known as a young prodigy who had some reputation. He was highly scouted by many mega-clubs, who waited for him to become an adult to snag him for themselves. In the end, everyone failed as he became a soldier.

After retiring, he immediately announced that he was joining Blood Red War Flag.

He was destined to become one of Blood Red War Flag’s members. No one was able to change that, especially someone of his calibre.

Drunken Agar and Poison Stream were all in similar situations. Therefore, Blood Red War Flag had three new top players join their ranks. This was the main discussion point in the Ruling Sword camp. They gathered together and analysed each player’s tendencies and abilities in detail. Then, they listed out what they needed to watch out for from these players.

Ruling Sword didn’t need more points to advance into the next round, but this match was fought for the sake of reputation. If they lost, it wouldn’t look too good.

Blood Red War Flag didn’t need it either, but they didn’t mind using this battle to debut their three new players. They wanted the world to know these three new recruits.

Jade Flower Lover had already replaced Dust Dragon as Blood Red War Flag’s manager. Dust Dragon was only in charge of managing the club’s activities.

If Dust Dragon was a soldier, then Jade Flower Lover would be a combination of a businessman and a soldier. He was born into a business family and studied finance in university, but instead of entering this field, he went and worked as a soldier for many years. After returning from military service, he immersed himself into the world of gaming and joined Blood Red War Flag. He progressed to where he was now one step at a time.

He had the toughness of a soldier and the cunningness of a businessman.

It was said that Blood Red War Flag’s founder was also someone who was born into a business family and became a soldier afterwards. Then, once he had built up enough power, he established the guild. It was then that Blood Red War Flag grew and grew to become a fearsome power.

Everyone didn’t have much information on these three new players, although they had fought a few times in the public eye.

“Blood Red War Flag’s Biting Youth is challenging you. Are you going to accept the challenge?” Cat Dad asked.

“What’s your suggestion?” Lu Li wanted a second opinion. He didn’t want to accept this challenge because he didn’t need to accept it to grow his reputation anymore. Winning wouldn’t bring him any benefit, and if he lost, then he would become Biting Youth’s stepping stone.

“My suggestion is for you to accept it. It doesn’t look good on your part if you avoid his challenge. Are you confident?” Cat Dad asked.

No one knew about the properties of the Supreme Ring.

“I won’t lose,” Lu Li answered as he nodded his head.

“Then let’s accept it. We’ll count it as giving Blood Red War Flag a favour. If he can’t defeat you, then that’s their problem,” Cat Dad laughed, then continued, “There’s also this Prison Stream. If he can meet Moonlight on the arena, they would be even more satisfied.”

“What can this favour get us?” Lu Li didn’t understand Cat Dad’s words.

“We can just hold onto it for now and use it at a later date. They won’t forget this. Not even Jade Flower Lover. They are too prideful to forget a favour.”

Cat Dad was someone highly experienced with the gaming industry and had decades of know-how in this industry. He was extremely familiar with how these clubs were.

“I’ll be the first one, then Moonlight second. If they want to meet Moonlight, then they’ll have to get through me,” Lu Li decided.

Realistically, even if Lu Li didn’t accept the challenge, Ruling Sword would also need to send out other people. All of their competitors were well-known players, so any defeat on their part would inflate Blood Red War Flag’s players’ reputations.

There was another way. Lu Li could accept Biting Youth’s challenge, then shamelessly send out Moonlight as the first fighter.

There were no Thieves who could face Moonlight in a one-on-one battle.