Chapter 952: The Imitation and the Surpassing
With the Northern Expeditionary Army's return, Demacia City held a grand welcome ceremony and celebration.
Countless Demacians took to the streets and alleys, celebrating victory and prosperity in their own way.
Though they couldn't see the crisis in the Howling Abyss or understand what the Watchers' destruction meant, that didn't stop them from feeling proud of the victory in the Black Forest campaign. More importantly...
As the army won victory after victory on the battlefield, Demacian goods reached ever more distant places, beginning to conquer broader markets.
This celebration also marked Demacia's adoption of an entirely new path, unlike that of the empires of the past. After becoming the strongest nation on Valoran, one that arguably had no true rivals, Demacia showed no desire to expand its territory. Instead, it chose to promote its political and commercial standards.
For the principalities and city-states of Valoran, and even for Noxus's new Grand Commander, this was a great relief.
Those with insight could easily realize that by doing this, Demacia could reap an endless stream of profits through trade without bearing the costs of ruling. But so what?
The many principalities and city-states of Valoran weren't afraid of Demacians making money off them, nor of becoming part of Demacia's standards, economy, and politics. What they feared was Demacia directly interfering in their domestic affairs—or sending an army to conquer them outright.
Noxus had already left a deep impression in this regard. Anyone familiar with Valoran's history after the Rune Wars knew that this period could simply be called "the History of Noxian Conquests."
And it wasn't just Noxus. The ancient history of neighboring Shurima could just as well be called "the History of the Shuriman Empire's Conquests." The empires of old had all been ambitious,