The Great Thief

Lu Li circled around three times, and on the fourth time, he calmly and steadily stood behind Wild. He wasn’t in a rush to attack. Who could tell if Wild was just pretending not to notice him, waiting until Lu Li was off his guard then striking him with a massive attack?

Lu Li was a little regretful. He always thought he was a prudent person and never would’ve thought he would have made the mistake of a proud soldier.

In the 1st Shadow Cup, as long as he had time, he would definitely be able to gather up videos and information on the on the opponents he might face. He would even try to figure out how these competitors performed their spectacular moves in the past.

This Shadow Cup clashed with Naxxramas, the final Instance Dungeon for the level 60s. In order to guarantee a First Clear, Lu Li put most of his focus on the Instance Dungeon.

Added to the fact that all the people he had faced before were rather weak, Lu Li simply didn’t have to use much effort to deal with them. As such he rarely went to research his opponents, not even looking at their past competitions.

Circling around three times had taken almost 20 seconds.

That was enough time for an old Mage to finish off a weak little Thief.

Actually, the previous Thief that fought Wild died a very pitiful death. They used some very different tactics compared to Lu Li. In order to avoid Wild’s Detection, they would always attack directly, using an unexpected method to seize control on the offensive.

Wild appeared calm, but inside, he was actually quite panicked.

He didn’t have strong Detection, but Lu Li had lost three of his escaping skills.

Thieves did have a lot of escape skills, but after throwing away three, he didn’t have many left. As such Lu Li needed to grab hold of the offensive, using all of his strength to pin Wild down to the ground.

Cheap Shot!

Shadowstrike!

His own Shadowstrike didn’t have much effect in terms of crowd control, but Lu Li was just about to unleash a full-combo Shadowstrike that could disable his opponent while dealing off-the-charts damage.

This was a battle of control, with Lu Li and Wild both trying to stun the other.

Wild’s 20 seconds of Detection didn’t come from nowhere. It was the main attribute of his equipment. Apart from this Special Effect, all of the others were rather useless. He had to lose a piece of similar level equipment to be able to achieve to this current level of Detection.

As long as he could grab hold of a Thief, he could easily dispatch of them.

In the first round, Lu Li didn’t completely control Wild. He had no choice but to keep running away.

He actually could keep escaping?

Wild was angry. Lu Li had already escaped 3 times, and he could still escape now.

He had no choice. He could only wait for his chance to act.

Lu Li started again, with some of his skills already having completely cooled down. This time, Lu Li was able to stun Wild, but after he was finished off with him, he didn’t have much HP left. He had no choice but to admit that as long as an old mage had high Detection, they would be a nightmare for Thieves.

Next, Blood Red War Flag sent out a Paladin.

Of course, a Thief who had all of their skills available and full HP wasn’t afraid of a Paladin, but a weakened Thief stood no chance, let alone the fact that Lu Li had consumed too many skills and special effects.

Seeing someone of the same role, Mu Qiu was filled with anticipation that he could barely hold in.

Of course, the Paladin opposite them couldn’t defeat him, but his Greatsword of the Brotherhood was still not able to finish him off in one shot. Even taking out half of someone’s HP was rare, let alone getting killing someone in a single strike.

Mu Qiu defeated his opponent, but was also eliminated by the next warrior from Blood Red War Flag.

Although the warrior wasn’t high-ranked, Berserkers in this patch were powerful, so they had a definite advantage against Paladins.

Blood Red War Flag’s competitors weren’t considered the cream of the crop. The highest-level mage, Wild, wasn’t even comparable to Unforgettable Maple. However, while Blood Red War Flag’s competitors seemed rather average, they were all powerful players. They were the type who didn’t look that amazing, but could hold their own against anyone.

Moonlight went up to face and finish off the warrior, which brought the battle to a close.

Ruling Sword scored three points to Blood Red War Flag’s two.

This score really didn’t reveal much. There were still six points in the group battle, and what Blood Red War Flag exceled at was group battles. They definitely could turn the tables here.

It was too bad for them that Ruling Sword had Moonlight, Lu Li, Mu Qiu, as well as March Rain and Innocent Child. This sharp team with two healers didn’t lack output or healing, and under Lu Li’s command, they were as defensive as a tortoise’s shell.

Without the Magic players, who could easily be targeted and killed, Blood Red War Flag instantly understood Lu Li’s intentions.

Who would be the best to focus on? The three options were Lu Li, Moonlight and Mu Qiu. One was a Thief, the most difficult to kill, while the two others had strong Defense, high HP and Plate Armor. Even targeting the healers would be difficult, since they could heal each other.

However, they did not have much of a choice. The targets were still the healers.

“Control March Rain and kill Innocent Child,” Wild instructed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kill March Rain. Priests were the best at healing HP on the battlefield, but they were the most vulnerable. The reason they didn’t kill March Rain was because there was no way to control Innocent Child.

Druid healers were the worst at healing on the field, but you certainly couldn’t look down on their ability to survive.

They could heal themselves, and if you focused on them, they could go right into Bear Form. In this form, their HP was comparable to a Main Tank and they were still able to dispel most controlling effects. A Druid with an arsenal of continuous recovery spells was simply a nightmare.

At the moment, a Priest and a Druid healing together was the best combo.

However, you had to consider the quality of the Priest and Druid as well. If your awareness of changing positions was average, and the Druid didn’t have any top skills or equipment, it was just a matter of time before you’d be finished off.

Bear Form just meant that your HP was like that of a Main Tank. It didn’t mean your Defense increased along with it.

Blood Red War Flag went all out against Innocent Child, and Innocent Child showed the audience what a powerful Druid was capable of.

Dawn didn’t lack Druid competitors to begin with, and Innocent Child was literally a textbook Druid. Most Druids, in their private study, would model and analyze Innocent Child’s moves and attacks.

In the end, Blood Red War Flag still finished off Innocent Child.

However, while they were focusing on him, Lu Li and his team weren’t being lazy. They chose their target to be Blood Red War Flag’s healer Priest, Dark Heavens. He was surrounded and killed, with no chance of escape.

Each team had lost a healer, and it appeared even, but in fact, Blood Red War Flag was at a big disadvantage.

“Retreat,” Wild commanded.

They still had four damage dealers on their side and Ruling Sword had three, so it looked like they had the advantage, but Ruling Sword had March Rain. Even having five damage output players would be useless.

Wild’s plan was very clear. They would first avoid the worst of it all and wait until they could quickly sub on their healer Jade Flower Lover before re-engaging.

“Chase!” Lu Li was at the head, running them down, while Moonlight charged to the front. At the back, Mu Qiu and March Rain were right on their heels. They were a little worried for Lu Li and Moonlight. On the off-chance that Blood Red War Flag suddenly killed one of them, then this would all be over.

Moonlight threw his axe like a meteor, striking Blood Red War Flag’s Paladin Scandalous. Then, like a chain, it bound her up and pulled him back.

“Damn, turn around!”

Wild was surprised and angry. After giving a shout, he brought them back to support Scandalous.

Lu Li was also speechless. They had lost a healer; there was no point in being so aggressive.

However, since Scandalous had been hooked, Lu Li and his team could capitalize on this opportunity.

Blood Red War Flag intended to attack March Rain. As long as they could kill her, then the tables would be completely turned. After all, one of the two healers of Ruling Sword was already dead. If they killed another one, then they would have no healers left at all. Blood Red War Flag’s healer, Jade Flower Lover, was also rushing over now.

March Rain stalled as long as she could. She didn’t heal her teammates anymore and just tried to preserve her own life.

Scandalous had already been finished off. After all, there was no healer to protect him.

After finishing off Scandalous, Lu Li went right for Wild, saving March Rain from her dangerously low HP.

Wild sighed helplessly. He knew it was all over. Even if he could do more, he couldn’t fight against Lu Li with a healer. Jade Flower Lover simply couldn’t come in time to help them.

Ruling Sword successfully eliminated Blood Red War Flag, advancing to the next stage!