The Great Thief

Zugra’s altar was gigantic, and was also the place where he often hung around.

"Is this item reliable?" Deep Watersong was a bit worried. Although he respected Lu Li’s name, he hadn’t played with him much. He wasn’t like Hachi Chan, Cain’s Left Hand or even Water Fairy, who trusted Lu Li entirely.

"Do you see that dead body?" Lu Li asked as he pointed towards the center of the altar.

"That’s a...body?" Hachi Chan stood on her toes and stretched her neck to get a better look. It couldn’t be helped that she was short.

"That’s a giant demon. I thought it was something else at first, but it looks like it’s a monster. What does this monster have to do with us fighting the boss?" Water Fairy asked.

"This is Lord Arethoc," Lu Li said, then paused upon seeing that Deep Watersong had a confused expression.

"Lord Arethoc was one of the demon guards, Ered’ruin. He was the strongest vanguard under Mannoroth, and led the demon guard army to take territories for the Burning Legion..." he explained.

These ugly monsters with wings were strong and cautious, and their cruelty was well-known within in the universe.

These frightening, burning Warriors were almost entirely immune to magic and were capable of destroying an entire army alone. Lord Arethoc was one of the strongest entities amongst them.

During the war, Mannoroth had been slain, while Arethoc received fatal damage and had to rest here.

Some legends said that he was waiting for the return of his master, while all the demons from The Mannoroth Assembly believed this. Zugra took energy from Arethoc’s body as a supply for the altar, planning to summon the return of the great Mannoroth with this.

"This monster is still alive?" Deep Watersong’s asked as his face went pale.

He didn’t know much about Arethoc, but he knew for sure that the five of them were nothing compared to high-tier demon who was favored by a strong Abyss Lord.

"Don’t worry – this monster is pretty much dead, and we have this Inferno Power core," Lu Li said confidently.

"What’s the purpose of this item?" everyone asked as their eyes lit up.

"After Zugra goes on a patrol, we’ll take the core near Lord Arethoc. Then, we’ll be able to control his body to fight. The five of us will control a part each..." Lu Li explained as he studied the movements of Zugra.

"Wait, did you say the five of us?" Water Fairy asked. She wasn’t sure about what she had just heard.

"That’s right. I’ll control the right hand, you control the left hand, Left Hand... Cain’s Left Hand, you and Deep Watering can control a leg each. As for Hachi Chan, you can control the main body," Lu Li said as he quickly gave everyone their roles.

Zugra had already left the altar and was about to start on his patrol.

Now that he had taken up a position in the Burning Legion, both the Alliance and Horde faction were out to take him down. If he didn’t spend the time to patrol over these demons, his own personal safety would definitely become an issue.

"Why am I controlling the main body?" Hachi Chan asked out of curiosity.

It seemed like controlling the main body was an incredibly important task. Was she finally a reliable team member in Lu Li’s heart now?

"You have no sense of direction, so I can’t let you control the legs. The hands are mostly used to control the weapon to attack and you’re no reliable in this aspect either. It’s simple to control the main body – you just have to keep the body in balance," Lu Li said bluntly.

After he was done with Hachi Chan, Lu Li led everyone slowly up the altar.

There was no one at the altar – the Burning Legion was very strict and demon soldiers didn’t dare approach this place. As such, they came close to Lord Arethoc without running into any trouble.

When Lu Li took the Inferno Power Core out from his bag, a voice whispered into their ears.

This was a summoning call for power as the Inferno Power Core drew closer to the body of Lord Arethoc. From the way the voice spoke, you could tell that this was the essence of a summoned demon. An unexplainable and dangerous energy was breathing on its surface.

As you looked at it, an image would appear in your head of you controlling a demon. The thought of being able to control such power would send a rush over your whole body.

When you looked around, you would find that you had become Lord Arethoc himself.

At this time, Lu Li and the others had already successfully controlled Lord Arethoc; they had disappeared from where they were standing and had become a part of the giant demon body.

"My goodness! What on earth is this? I..." Deep Watersong cursed as the body of Lord Arethoc fell back onto the floor halfway during its rise.

Lu Li quickly controlled the right hand to hold up the body. This was the only action that prevented the Almighty Lord Arethoc from falling face-flat onto the ground.

Obviously, it was no easy task to control a demon Lord, especially considering that everyone was controlling a section each. Everyone needed some time to adjust to the new body.

"Don’t panic; take it slow. Everyone relax," Lu Li said as he guided the two players who were controlling the leg area. They had to make the body stand up first – otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to fight Zugra after it returned.

After they finally stood up, Deep Watersong and Cain’s Left Hand controlled the legs to take a step forward at the same time.

Thud!

Hachi Chan, who was in charge of the main body, shrieked in pain. Lu Li, who was in charge of the arms, could feel a signal from the body and a strong urge to facepalm himself.

"You two, sort out your coordination for walking," Lu Li barked in disbelief.

He and Water Fairy didn’t have this kind of problem – the arms were much more flexible than legs and they weren’t too important at this point.

From standing, to walking forward and backing away, pursuing... they spent dozens of minutes sorting this out. Meanwhile, Lu Li and Water Fairy also took the time to familiarize themselves with the control of the arm. This was especially important for Lu Li, who was controlling the double-headed spear. This was the main way this body attacked and was quite a difficult task. It wasn’t possible for people to read each other’s minds, so they had to spend more time to practice. Lu Li set up some commands as signals to attack.

It was harder at the start, but once they became familiar with the situation, everyone thought that this was a fun way to play the game.

To control one part of the body was an interesting experience indeed. This wasn’t something achievable outside of a gaming environment, not to mention that they were inside the giant body of a demon.

When Zugra returned, he saw Lord Arethoc walking back and forth on the altar and was caught by surprise.

Lord Arethoc had previously been sleeping and the two of them never had any form of communication. Even though he claimed that he could resurrect Mannoroth, he wasn’t too sure about the situation itself. Zugra was actually just a character who built his survival on lies.

Now, he really had the urge to turn around and run for his life.