After spending another three Drow Silver Coins to coax more information out of the dwarf about the Steam Bombs and the newly emerged Hogg Mining, Dishana had grown deeply interested in the Gnoll behind the operation, who had made such a huge splash in just a few days.
The Duergar had been entrenched here for nearly forty years and had built up such a formidable operation that the Drow Matriarchs of Gershon City had been forced to make temporary compromises in exchange for even greater profits.
Yet Hogg, a Gnoll outsider, had brought only two hundred Tribe Members with him and still managed to make the Duergar bow their stubborn heads without bloodshed and get along with him. That was certainly worth giving some thought.
Was this really the same Gnoll they knew from the wilderness, barely distinguishable from beasts and useful only as cannon fodder?
So Dishana decided to meet the Gnoll leader who had intrigued and surprised her, and speak with him in person. If she could persuade him, then with the support of all Zelandia, even challenging her mother might not be impossible.
West Mining Area Steam-Powered Mine Mule "Development Center."
Three fully assembled Trial Type I Steam Powered Mining Snails had been neatly lined up in a cavern that served as a storeroom.
The team assembled here included Li Wei, Chief Blueprint Designer; Tiger, Chief Technician and Level 5 Technician, as well as a fitter and Milling Machine Operator; and two Technical Supervisors and welders, Fischer and Igg, along with the best smiths working under Tiger.
Even with all that, in an era before machine tools had been developed, they could only manage one a day, relying entirely on handwork to make such large machines.
The second test had gone much better. Compared with the stone box Li Wei had crudely made by melting iron ore, the cylinder forged from smelted metal was much safer and more reliable. After it had spent the entire day heating up and hissing without any major malfunctions, the two Black Mine bosses immediately decided to make ten more.
Unfortunately, they had no idea when the Drow Investigation Team would arrive, so the machines they had on hand had yet to be put to work and prove their worth.
It was also worth mentioning that, at Tiger's suggestion, they had used Li Wei's old method to make another stone-shell Pressure Cooker without smelting the material: the "Steam Bomb" that had cost the Old Dwarf his reputation in his twilight years. In the Old Dwarf's own words:
"Those chosen Drow who come down to the Lower City are only looking for a convenient excuse they can pass off as an explanation. So why don't we give them one ourselves?"
Li Wei turned the suggestion of a "Steam Bomb" over in his mind and couldn't help looking at the Old Dwarf, whose heart was even darker than his face, in a new light.
There were no secrets in this world that could withstand an investigation. Rather than hide things, why not hand them a half-true answer before everything came out? It was a brilliant way to kill two birds with one stone.
The unstable Steam Bomb and a genuine steam engine looked almost identical on the outside, but the effects they produced were worlds apart.
Besides, a Steam Bomb fitted with only a pressure valve wasn't difficult to make. Its steam explosion could do considerable damage to ordinary creatures without extraordinary powers; the only drawback was its rather impractical heating method.
If the Drow really wanted to take these things onto the battlefield, they could either follow the suggestion and inscribe enchantments on the cylinder casing, embedding expensive magic crystals to keep it heated and produce the Magic Fluctuation they wanted when it exploded.
Or they could have a bunch of Elves squatting on a battlefield, firing up boilers with firewood and coal. Just imagining the scene made one's eyes hurt.
Yet even the most perfect plan couldn't keep up with changes—especially when the target of the scheme had a mind that worked just as strangely.
At long last, the group's eagerly awaited Drow Investigation Team had arrived.
Not long after Dishana and her Drow entourage drew near, Li Wei and the Old Dwarf Tiger received word from the Dwarves.
Bang!
Li Wei slapped the stone casing of the Steam Bomb, leaving a deep imprint, and snapped irritably, "Those Drow really don't play by the rules. They're coming to inspect us? Inspect my ass!"
Tiger, however, was surprisingly calm. He thought for a moment, then chuckled. "Makes sense. Probably another eldest daughter from some family driven to the brink with nowhere left to turn, come to Zelandia to go all in. She's lucky. If she'd come forty years earlier, those Goblins would've invited her back to their lair for a bowl of porridge."
Li Wei couldn't agree more. After spending so long in Zelandia, he had come to understand a little about the bizarre Drow.
Perhaps it was all thanks to their goddess, the equally twisted Spider Queen Lolth. Drow Society was steeped in chaos and evil, intrigue and infighting.
That was simply what the goddess Lolth's divine portfolio and alignment dictated.
Assassins!
Darkness!
Chaos!
Evil!
Lolth would always support any Drow in scheming against or killing their own kind.
She claimed this was to purge the weak from the Drow, making the whole race stronger. But in truth, the cruel and capricious tyrant simply delighted in watching others suffer.
She also carefully prevented open or widespread conflict within Drow Society. She would never tolerate large-scale fighting among the Drow, because it would drain and weaken the strength of the race.
But she approved of large-scale attacks that were flawlessly planned, cleanly executed, and immediately established an overwhelming advantage.
Lolth expected her people to be clever, calculating, and aware of the dangers around them as well as their own strengths.
Her husband, the Elven Main God Corellon Larethian, had kicked her down into the Underdark. So she believed that emotions, weakness, and love were completely useless, and that only by relying on oneself could one remain undefeated. This belief had directly warped the relationships between men and women throughout Drow Society. Female Drow almost never believed in love; they treated Male Drow only as tools for sexual release and reproduction.
She wanted her people to rule the entire Underdark and wipe out all the weak enemies they could conquer.
She also wanted them to eventually invade and conquer the surface—not merely rule it, but kill every last Corellon Larethian and surface Elf!
That was the Spider Queen's dark rule over the Drow.
The intelligent beings of the surface called it:
The Reign of Chaos under Lolth!
"Master, should we...?" Huozi, whose mind was still full of violence, made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Let's meet her first. If she wants to play poker, we should see what she's got to wager, right? If she's trying to get something for nothing, heh, we don't mind teaching her how to be an Elf."
Li Wei grinned, baring his fangs. His furry wolf ears perked up with his rising excitement.
Thanks to [Three Kingdoms Poisonous Advisor Jia Xu 2] for the Hundred Rewards.
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