The Great Thief

Buliwyf Stonehand’s mouth was beginning to dry up, so he thirstily drank the water from the pond. Lu Li was stunned. Was he not afraid of being poisoned? The Titans had to be praised for such creations.

“It’s already quite late. Do you want to rest? I’ll come in tomorrow again,” Lu Li said, trying to stop him.

The time allocated for gaming was already nearly over, and Lu Li needed to prepare for the fight tomorrow against Peerless City in Jiangnan.

“Oh, it’s already late? You’re right. You adventurers are so privileged now, being able to go back to the inn and sleep. Back then…”

“Then we’ll take our leave.”

If Stonehand was talking about Forging, then Lu Li could stay for longer, but he wasn’t, so Lu Li wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Wait, are you coming again tomorrow?” Buliwyf Stonehand asked.

“Hm…”

Lu Li said that he would, but that was out of politeness. He already had a lot to do tomorrow, so he did not know if he could come or not. The fact that Stonehand had taken Lu Li as being serious surprised him.

“I knew you were lying,” Buliwyf Stonehand angrily said as he grabbed a hammer and threw it towards Lu Li. Fortunately, it just missed.

Lu Li showed an awkward expression, while Water Fairy was laughing at the situation.

She could see that this Weapons Master really admired Lu Li, so there was no way that he would kill him using that hammer.

“If I can’t come tomorrow, then I’ll definitely come the day after.”

Being able to interact with a Weapons Master was definitely an advantageous. Lu Li would already benefit from Stonehand showing him a few techniques.

“Alright, when you nearly reach Grand Master Level, come and look for me. I’ll take you in as a student,” Buliwyf Stonehand offered after giving it some thought. He did not want to take Lu Li as a student now, because he wasn’t qualified yet.

Lu Li was a Master and was considered an expert among players. However, the ordinary NPCs in these Forges were all already Master level.

“Of course!” Lu Li was extremely happy; it had been a while since he had received another NPC’s care.

Stonehand did not look at Lu Li’s status, but only focused on his ability.

It was time for Water Fairy and Lu Li to say their goodbyes.

“See you tomorrow!” Water Fairy said.

“Tomorrow…I might not have time tomorrow.” Lu Li was going to reply with the same, but he was not sure if he could meet with her. Both of them were busy people. Although Drizzle Court did not have matches over the next two days, Ruling Sword needed to fight Peerless City.

These matches were extremely important and so was the image of the guild. He could not just let Square Root handle all of it.

“I’m going to Jiangnan tomorrow to spectate, so are we not going to meet tomorrow?” Water Fairy asked.

“Spectate?” Lu Li was a little surprised.

“That’s right. You guys won last time, so I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Water Fairy said with a pout.

“Don’t forget that we’re allies…” Lu Li muttered.

“It’s not like I’m going to help them fight against you,” Water Fairy condescendingly retorted.

After logging out, Lu Li visited the venue of the match, and made sure to confirm the booking at the hotel that he had made for Peerless City’s players. He then went over Peerless City’s schedule, including their post-game interviews and activities.

The council was also supporting and cooperating with Ruling Sword for the preparations. After all, the gaming industry was rapidly developing, so a match of this calibre would boost the image of Jiangnan.

Peerless City would be arriving by plane. They were supported by Drizzle Court and had bought their private jet two years ago. Unless Ruling Sword accepted external support and investments, they would not be able to afford something like this.

When they arrived, they decided to take some interviews at the airport, while Ruling Sword sent some people to accompany them.

This time, Ruling Sword finally had uniforms. The ‘home’ colour was chosen to be white and they looked far better than Peerless City’s uniforms.

Immediately, there were fans who asked when the uniforms would go on sale.

The sales of these jerseys were going to be a big part of their income. These jerseys were extremely well-made, so the manufacturing cost would be about 50 dollars. However, to gain more profit, they would sell them for around 100 dollars to the fans. If they earned 50 dollars profit per shirt, they would earn 500,000 dollars from 10,000 fans alone, and Ruling Sword definitely had more than 10,000 fans.

Glory Capital was extremely wealthy, and this was largely due to their merchandise sales.

At the airport, Lu Li saw Water Fairy. This was not his first time seeing her outside of the game, but this time, they were in a completely different context.

The Water Fairy from before was only a customer – someone who he could earn money from. As for now…

After helping Peerless City to settle down, they started to choose the map.

It was the same nine maps, but this time, Ruling Sword would be choosing. As the ‘home’ team, the fans were only one of the benefits. The other benefit was being able to choose the map. In many instances, the choice of map could decide the outcome of the match.

If both sides were evenly matched and one of the sides knew the map exceptionally well, they would have a massive advantage over the one who did not.

The choice of map was an extremely important decision, so the players and executive members of Ruling Sword decided to have a meeting.

Square Root Three looked around, and no one was speaking, so he decided to speak first.

“According to their formation, I think Map 3 and 4 shouldn’t be chosen.”

However, everyone knew that those maps should not be chosen. Dustwallow Marsh and the Firelands were maps that Ruling Sword had previously won in, but in choosing the Firelands, Lu Li would have a disadvantage as a Thief. Being their top player, it would be a mistake to hinder him like that.