The Great Thief

After Lu Li had finished up his work at the Strongholds, he hurried to meet up with Major Solomon. Lu Li still had to deliver the chests of potions that he and Solomon had looted from the Demilich, and since all the items were labelled as quest items, keeping the loot for himself was out of the question.

“Damn Elf, you sure took your time,” Solomon cursed as his eyes glowed red, his tone furious.

“Better late than never,” Lu Li said as he ignored the Major’s rage and handed him the chests. Major Solomon’s expression lit up instantly.

“Thank God, I thought something happened to you. How did you even manage to escape on that day? A few Death Knights pursued me for hours. Thankfully, since I’m a Thief, I was able to escape and return to my base.”

Solomon had never been so grateful to be the same class as the one that most young nobles looked down upon. As a Thief, he might not be able to take down even one Death Knight, but he had the skills to escape them.

“I’m here; that’s all that matters,” Lu Li responded, then added, “Shall we report on our mission? The base would be overjoyed to see these potions.”

“Um, I can manage on my own,” Solomon said as he paled slightly. There was no way he was going to share the honour of looting these potions with Lu Li – rewards were better enjoyed alone than shared after all. Solomon had his own ambitions, such as quitting as a scout and focusing on rising through the ranks. Having Lu Li around was not going to help him.

“Is that so? Might I remind you then, that if it wasn’t for a certain someone feeding you information, your supposed ‘single-handed’ takedown of the Demilich would also mean that you would have left your post? You would have had to abandon your duties, Major Solomon,” Lu Li chided, savoring his words slowly.

“You’re threatening me,” Solomon responded as he grew furious.

“Stop joking around; how could I possibly threaten you, Major? We’re partners, after all,” Lu Li said humbly.

“You should be mindful of your greed. I’ve given you what’s yours – overstep and it’ll be your life on the line,” Solomon snapped. The Major was genuinely grateful for Lu Li’s contributions to this mission, but he was right. Solomon had rewarded Lu Li befittingly and did not owe him anything.

“That maybe so, but I would like to go with you to meet the commander,” Lu Li requested.

In the end, Solomon gave up and took Lu Li with him to meet the commander – General Halford Rebane. Rebane was nominally the Chief Commander of the Alliance since he only had power amongst the Seventh Regiment. Not even Dwarves or those rowdy soldiers of the Alliance would bat an eyelid at him.

Lu Li followed Solomon into the camp and saw the Head of The Seventh Regiment. Lu Li himself was only team leader of a scouting team, while General Halford Rebane was his highest commanding officer. From the moment they met, Rebane had already put on an air of reluctance. It wasn’t because he was naturally condescending, but as Chief Commander, he just had too much on his plate. It wasn’t surprising that Rebane’s body language sent out the message of his hesitancy to waste his time on low-ranking officers. Major was a low rank in itself, not to mention Solomon was only able to join the military because of his ties with the nobles. Lu Li was ranked even lower; he was no different to a sentry.

“Oh, why are you here?” a voice boomed. Lu Li had only realised that a fourth familiar figure was in the room after he had finished bowing to the Commander. It was Fordring!

“Your Excellency!” Lu Li was taken back by surprise, and for once, his expression was genuine. After all, Lu Li had never once imagined that he would meet the old man in such a place. He still remembered the first time he had met Fordring – the was holding a blunt axe with bundles of woods at his feet. Fordring was a veteran Knight turned woodcutter. Lu Li was able to trigger a quest that was supposedly exclusive to Paladins, but in ‘Of Love and Family’ he never once forgot Fordring’s words.

“Real honour cannot be measured by class or race, but only by a person’s actions and morals!” While Lu Li had also regretted not being able to save Fordring’s son, Tyran’s death had inspired Tirion Fordring to resurrect the Silver Hand Regiment. Tirion must have been travelling from city to city to recruit past Silver Hand members, and had coincidentally bumped into Lu Li here.

“We meet again, my friend. You still haven’t answered my question – why are you here?” Fordring asked as he smiled warmly. Fordring was paler than the first time he saw Lu Li but was visibly more spirited.

“He has recently been promoted to second lieutenant of a scouting team under The Seventh Regiment, Your Excellency,” Solomon answered.

“Yes, I’m here to report on some affairs,” Lu Li echoed.

“So, you two have met the High lord. That’s great! At least I know I can trust his friends,” Rebane said as he looked Lu Li in the eye for the first time, then continued, “I’ve heard you were to report some affairs? You may speak now.”

“I… found a transportation route used by the Scourge by chance. They were transporting harmful potions…”

Solomon hesitated – in the end, he decided to take the rewards for himself. After all, he was indeed the one who had discovered the route, and Lu Li could only give the Major a cold, silent side look.

“I… found Second Lieutenant Lu Li, and with the help of a few adventurers, we were able to ambush the transport unit of Undead yesterday afternoon. We were victorious, Your Excellency,” Solomon continued as he straightened his back.

“Oh? What type of transport unit?” Rebane asked.

“Several Undead – some Corpse Easters and Patchwork Monsters. What’s more, their leader was a Demilich, my Lord!” Solomon’s attempt at hiding his proud accomplishments had failed miserably.

“A Demilich!”

Rebane’s eyes lit up. If it was a Demilich that was head of the transportation unit, then it proved that the potions delivered would be of some value.

“I found quite a few Plague-related potions during the looting,” Solomon said.

“What?”

Rebane immediately lost his cool upon hearing the word ‘plague’.

“Yes, there were quite a few potions in there used to spread the plague, Your Excellency. I’ve delivered them to you. They are right outside. Even an apprentice chemist would be able to identify them. I believe that we should start with the potions, and create a bio-weapon targeted at the Undead,” Solomon suggested.

“And not stop the plague from spreading?”

Lu Li could not hold his tongue any longer.

“Of course, it must,” Rebane and Solomon looked at each other and answered at the same time.

Lu Li sighed silently; he shouldn’t have expected those warheads to desire anything more than to create weapons. Even though halting the spread of the plague should have been their number one priority, Lu Li thought that perhaps eliminating the Undead might on a certain level be a way to achieve this.