Infernal Affairs

"What?!" Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment, wondering what was going on.

However, he quickly realized that this wasn't the first time someone had asked him to help them get rid of their boss. Could it be that they wanted him to kill their leader and then install their own people in his place?

However, that's not quite right. While being the leader of a monster faction can be a stumbling block for players to rise to the top, on the other hand, being able to become the leader of a monster faction undoubtedly requires immense strength, which is extremely important in this world where strength reigns supreme.

Just like the Water Elemental Plane, even if Xiao Yu had the chance to kill Neptulon, he would never do so easily. Once Neptulon is gone, the successor will definitely not be as powerful Neptulon, which would weaken the entire Water Elemental Plane. It would be a waste to do something so ruthless just to gain power. So his first reaction was that something was wrong.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Are you trying to get me to kill your leader so your people can take over? Or are you just setting a trap for me? Hmph, do you think I'm that stupid, human?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Things aren't as simple as you think. Before we discuss the specifics, I can give you two pieces of information as a sign of my sincerity."

Xiao Yu thought to himself that this was not bad; free information was always good. Anyway, if the other party couldn't persuade him later, he could always turn his back on them.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Then please speak."

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "First message: The Elemental Will has allied with the Naga and is about to launch an attack on the Lost Island and Hydra City. The Elemental Will wants to completely dismantle your forces in order to achieve its goal of dominating the Elemental Plane."

What?! Xiao Yu thought to himself, these guys are really courting death. They actually dared to attack me and drag the Naga into it too. Speaking of which, the one-month period has already passed, and it's really possible that the Naga will ally with the Elemental Will. But to actually ally with their former enemy to turn against their own people, these elemental traitors are simply unforgivable.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "And the second piece of news?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "It's also related to the Elemental Will. The Elemental Will has found the local Lich of the Western Plaguelands, the Naxxas Great Graveyard, Fulaimaosi, and is preparing to send a large army to deal with you."

(Damn, these guys are really relentless. They've gone to great lengths to deal with me.) Xiao Yu thought to himself, already harboring murderous intent towards the Elemental Will. Once he advanced to the Chaos Elemental and became the Elemental King, he would make them pay.

But wait, how does she know all this?

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Then how did you learn of this?"

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "Heh, that's actually quite normal. For large guilds like ours that make it onto the leaderboards, planting spies among each other is practically a daily occurrence. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, your the Immortals probably have quite a few spies from other monster factions too—including those from the Elemental Will."

Xiao Yu thought to himself that it was really hard to be sure. His Hydra City would occasionally receive Water Elemental players coming from the Maelstrom. It was impossible to tell whether these players were ordinary casual players or from somewhere else. So if the Elemental Will wanted to mix in some sand, there was absolutely no way to defend against it.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Your message is timely and certainly shows your sincerity. Now, let's talk about the cooperation you wanted to discuss. You want me to take down your boss—who was your boss again?"

It's no wonder Xiao Yu didn't know who the leader of the Scarlet Crusade was. After all, the Scarlet Crusade wasn't well-known and had a limited sphere of influence. It was just an organization established by a group of humans, and it couldn't compare to anything like the Old Gods or the demons of the Abyss.

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Our leader is the Grand Crusader Dathrohan."

What? Xiao Yu was taken aback. He had heard of this Grand Crusader Dathrohan. Saidan Dathrohan was one of the first Paladin of the Order of the Silver Hand and became the supreme commander during the Second War between the Alliance and the Horde, second only to Uther the Lightbringer.

Later, the Silver Hand was disbanded by Arthas's order. Some of Silver Hand members formed the Scarlet Crusade, while others formed the Argent Dawn.

Unexpectedly, Dathrohan became the leader of the Scarlet Crusade.

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "Things aren't as you think. In fact, even after killing Dathrohan, we didn't intend to take over. I'm the strongest boss in our guild, but I'm only a three-skull level boss. The leader represents the power of a monster force. If I were to take over, the Scarlet Crusade would be weakened."

"The reason we want you to kill him is not for personal gain, but for the sake of the entire Scarlet Crusade. Dathrohan is not the real Dathrohan; the real Dathrohan is long dead. The Dathrohan we see now is actually a Dreadlord in disguise, and his name is Balnazzar."

Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment. If what the other party said was true, this plot was quite exciting. He had naturally heard of Balnazzar. He was one of the three Dreadlord who briefly ruled Lordaeron. Later, he and another Dreadlord Detheroc, were killed by Sylvanas. The third Dreadlord Varimathras, then surrendered to Sylvanas.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "But isn't Balnazzar already dead? And since this matter is so secretive, how do you know all this?"

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "No, he didn't die. He faked his death and went into hiding. As for how we know this, we found out from the forums. You know the Demon Island Guild, right?"

Xiao Yu nodded. He naturally knew that Demon Island was a monster force composed of Abyss demons, and its influence was quite formidable.

Linia Abbendis (Commander of the Scarlet Crusade): "A long time ago, we noticed something was amiss within the Scarlet Crusade. The fanaticism within the organization was highly abnormal. You see, the Scarlet Crusade used to be very tolerant, even having dwarves and elves among its members. But as time went on, the Scarlet Crusade grew increasingly fanatical, constantly conducting internal purges. Anyone suspected of being Undead was eliminated. Many excellent Warrior didn't fall before the Undead, but instead died at the hands of their own people. This created a climate of fear within the organization, and no one dared to speak rationally anymore. Only the fanatical lunatics were given important positions. Our guild's activities were greatly hampered as a result, so we launched an investigation."

"Later we learned about this from Demon Island. After Balnazzar disguised himself as Dathrohan and controlled the Scarlet Crusade, he briefly returned to the Abyss and recruited a group of demons to go to the Prime Material Plane with him to help him control the Scarlet Crusade. One of these demons was a player from Demon Island."

"We spent 100,000 dollars to buy the identity of the person disguised as Dreadlord from that demon: the Grand Crusader Dathrohan —who is also the Dreadlord Balnazzar."

Xiao Yu thought to himself that this Balnazzar was really cunning and treacherous, actually impersonating the supreme commander of the Scarlet Crusade. This plot was so ridiculous, it could be made into a spy movie, comparable to the story of Captain United States actually being a Hydra agent. But this guy was also quite tragic; no matter how cunning he was, he couldn't guard against the player's treachery, and was sold out for 100,000 yuan.

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Then why don't you do it yourselves?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "First of all, we are the Scarlet Crusade. If we were to take action, Dathrohan could gather the strength of other Scarlet Crusade to deal with us."

Secondly, we have sworn allegiance to him, and if we go to war with him, we will be punished Oathbreaker, and our fighting strength will be greatly suppressed.

Third, our entire guild's resources are now focused on the Scarlet Crusade. If we fail, the losses will be enormous, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Fourth, this Balnazzar is extremely powerful. Dathrohan already has a level four skeleton, and Balnazzar's strength is estimated to be at level five skeletons. Moreover, a demon's level five skeleton is much stronger than a human's level five skeleton. Our strongest boss in Scarlet Glory is only at level three skeletons, so the chances of winning in a real fight are too low.

However, we witnessed your strength yesterday, and it was truly breathtaking. To be able to kill hundreds of powerful adventurers single-handedly, you are certainly capable of dealing with him."

Five skeleton-level? That's quite strong, but Xiao Yu doesn't take it seriously. His Annihilation state has already stacked four layers, and by tomorrow it will be five, meaning he can deal six times the damage. No matter how strong the Dreadlord is, it's no problem against Elemental Lords with six times the damage. The only question is, what's his reason for doing this?

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Then what's the price? What is the price? I'm taking a huge risk to help you eliminate a major threat within your guild. What kind of price are you willing to pay in return?"

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Isn't the loot and reputation a lone boss can provide a huge benefit in itself? Besides, we can also pay you an extra 500,000 points as a reward."

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "Five hundred thousand? They really are a bunch of tycoons. But it's still a bit too little. With the money-making speed on Lost Island, I could earn that in a few months. It's not worth taking this risk. However, killing a Dreadlord is indeed a huge temptation."

Azathoth (Water Elemental Lord): "Five hundred thousand. In addition, we need to sign an agreement. After defeating Dathrohan, you must answer my call and fight for me whenever I need you—only once, of course. You must send at least one boss of at least Skeleton level to lead a team, along with three thousand troops to support me."

Linia Abbendis (Scarlet Crusade Commander): "Then I think we have a deal. Dathrohan spends most of his time in Tyr's Hand, and sometimes he takes men to Stratholme to fight the Undead. At those times, he doesn't have many troops with him. Tomorrow morning is the day he goes to Stratholme, so let's Ambush him outside Tyr's Hand."