Lu PingAn returned laden with spoils. This first transaction had been a huge success.
But limiting his gains to mere supplies and "power" would be underestimating him far too much.
"Good thing I wasn't too late."
Looking at the fishfolk in his Courtyard, their faces full of shock and unease, Lu PingAn fell into thought.
The Eastern Kingdom's involvement in this world could be traced back thirty years. At the time, there had only been scattered Explorers; later, the authorities took over and established outposts and research bases.
It was around then that the Eastern Kingdom recognized this world's potential and sent some successful research results back to Earth, paving the way for everything that followed.
The Forest Goddess Faction's large-scale entry into this world had begun roughly three years ago, around a year before the Nirvana Plan was introduced.
It was not that they had somehow bypassed the Eastern Kingdom authorities. On the contrary, the authorities had quietly opened a back door for the True God Church, allowing them to take the first step.
After all, not throwing out bait until one saw the rabbit was instinctive for many factions. No matter how prettily you talked, actual dividends were more convincing.
This seemingly self-serving move was the most brilliant kind of political maneuvering. It was also why, when the Nirvana Plan was officially launched a year later, resistance had been so slight and the various churches had cooperated so readily.
They had already tasted the benefits and gained from another world. How could they possibly stop?
It was also because they had only been in this world for three years, expanding and claiming territory in small, gradual steps, that they had not left too deep an impression on the local residents. At least, they had not pulled out a