Li Wei hated trouble. And when trouble involved a female Drow, if left unchecked, it tended to snowball exponentially.
Honestly, if he hadn't had to think twice, he would've simply snapped the Drow's neck the moment he grabbed her. It might've been a little like crushing a flower, but that was better than leaving a loose end.
But just as he was about to do it, he suddenly sensed a subtle pulse of energy coming from her.
It came from the pendant around her neck. The pendant depicted a spider-woman hanging upside down from a web.
A Divine Emblem!
The Spider Queen Lolth's Divine Emblem!
Damn it, I'd actually forgotten this woman was a Cleric of that madwoman Lolth! And not just any Cleric—one who'd received Divine Favor! Looks like I really can't just kill this bitch. Li Wei had to consider the consequences of charging ahead.
Deities didn't have the time to keep their eyes on every single follower, but they did pay the occasional attention to those who had received their Divine Favor.
The moment such a follower died and the Chain of Faith was severed, the deity in question could use their Divine Power to locate the killer almost immediately.
They might not have the time or inclination to avenge the death, but they would at least take a look. In the end, their response usually depended on who was responsible.
If the follower died in an assassination by one of their own kind or in an ordinary battle, they might not even bother. But a high-value culprit was worth considering.
The Half-Dragon guise Li Wei had taken on might fool most of Coriel's inhabitants, but it would never fool a deity capable of seeing through illusions at a glance.
A freshly hatched Young Silver Dragon would surely make the old hag Lolth eager to send her Clerics and Spider Drow to claim such a fine offering.
That was the real reason Li Wei had changed his mind after careful consideration.
But there were always more solutions than problems. If killing her outright wasn't an option, he could simply try a different approach.
Once Li Wei's mind shifted, all kinds of ideas came to him. In the end, he settled on the one he thought offered the best value:
If I wipe out all these Drow at once, Gershon City will surely send another, more powerful investigation team before long. If this keeps happening, I'll never get to sleep. So I might as well raise a puppet to handle things for me up there! Maybe I could even put her in the Matriarch Position. Give me a few more years to grow, and what if Lolth finds out? Unless she personally projects herself down here, in this cramped, ever-shifting stretch of underground mine within the Dark Magic Web, my breath weapon and close-combat skills will make it impossible for them to take me down. Unless Gershon City sends its entire army, any team they send will be throwing itself away. And even if I can't beat them head-on, they still won't stop me from making a tactical retreat!
In just a few moments, Li Wei had sorted out his new plan—and found the words to Dishana that sounded, to her, like salvation.
The Drow's eyes, which had been filled with despair, lit up again. She forced a smile onto her pretty face and gripped Li Wei's wrist with both hands as he throttled her, as though that were the only way she could catch her breath and get a chance to speak.
"Lord Hohogg! I—I know I was wrong! Someone as lowly as me had no right to provoke or threaten you! Please forgive my offense! Cough, cough!"
Dishana had nearly suffocated. Li Wei casually tossed her back onto the puddle of some unidentified liquid as if she were garbage. Reborn into the world, Dishana coughed painfully, fighting the urge to vomit. She had just lifted her head to thank him when she realized that the Divine Emblem she had always worn close to her heart was now in Li Wei's claw, where he was examining it closely. She had no idea what he was planning, but she didn't dare ask for the emblem back—not yet. It meant almost as much to her as her life.
Li Wei toyed with Lolth's Divine Emblem, a playful smile on his lips. "I already told you. Because of your foolish kin, I've changed my mind. Not only am I going to spare you, I'm going to have all of Zelandia secretly support you in taking the Matriarch Position of the Jadiel Family. What do you think of that?"
Dishana seemed dazed, as if Divine Favor had suddenly fallen from the sky and struck her senseless. A look of rapture involuntarily spread across her face, but it lasted only an instant before she froze, then grew uneasy.
Having grown up in treacherous Gershon City, she was a true-blooded Drow who never believed Lolth would grant her followers Divine Favor for free. Any favor offered openly came with a price—often several times greater than the boon itself.
Li Wei's offer was certainly tempting. If she could get support like this, then as long as it helped her seize the Matriarch Position, what would it matter if she secretly became his plaything and let him do whatever he wanted?
But although the Half-Dragon Gnoll commander before her had the strength and imposing stature of a Red Dragon, when it came to sex, he didn't seem to have a thing in common with one. Her Priest Robe had already split at the seams, and she lay entirely defenseless before him. Yet he still looked at her as if she were garbage. When she had first seen him transform into a Half-Dragon Gnoll, she had braced herself for the worst: being used as a toy, hanging from him for days, or even being ravaged to death. But it turned out she'd been worrying for nothing.
Dishana was like a gambler who had lost everything, forcing an unnatural smile. The stranger Li Wei's gaze grew as he toyed with her Divine Emblem, the more uneasy she became.
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I may not have anything left to offer in exchange for your support."
Oh? Even greedy Drow can be afraid of the unknown.
Li Wei laughed to himself, his smile turning even more devilish. "No, you do. There's another kind of price in this world: an Overdraft Loan. I'll spare your life and support you in rising to power. In exchange, you'll work for me without pay. My first demand is simple: for the next few years, don't let your damned kin bother me. Of course, since you can't offer collateral for an Overdraft Loan, you'll have to make a small Pledge of Allegiance to prove your resolve."
Without waiting for her response, he casually tossed Lolth's Divine Emblem onto the Elf's belly. It landed with a crisp, wet splat.
The next moment, Dishana heard a verdict as vile as anything a devil might pronounce. "Now, use this thing to wipe the filth off yourself."
In that instant, lightning seemed to flash through Dishana's mind. Her whole body went numb, as though an electric current had passed through her.
Blasphemy!
If she really did as he demanded, there was no question it would be an act of blasphemy!
The Divine Emblem carried a deity's Divine Power. To devout Clerics, it was much like a miniature shrine they carried with them. In a sense, it was a manifestation of the deity in the hearts of their followers!
And now he was asking her to use the deity's manifestation to—
Her expression shifted from stunned disbelief—so this was what he'd meant—to outraged fury, then to helpless rage, despair, and confusion. Her eyes grew so hollow they were painful to look at.
The many expressions on her face opened Li Wei's eyes. He thought the girl had been born in the wrong life. If she'd been on Blue Star in his previous life, she would've won an Oscar Golden Statuette for Best Actress, no question.
But life was full of surprises. Sometimes, once a thought pushed past a certain breaking point, people discovered they still had untapped potential in an entirely new world.
The once-devout Cleric of Lolth seemed to have a sudden change of heart. She flashed Li Wei a dazzling, seductive smile, picked up the Divine Emblem she had once treasured above all else, and gave it a light lick.
"Then I'll do as you wish, Lord Hogg. And please, be sure to keep your promise."
Then, to everyone's shock and disbelief, she used the emblem, now wet with her saliva, to wipe the filth from her body.
She had already fulfilled Li Wei's demand at that point.
But perhaps after breaking through the awe of the divine in her heart, the Drow Elf felt as if she'd undergone a spiritual ascension unlike anything she'd ever experienced. The Divine Emblem's chain followed her movements—
Even Li Wei, for all his experience, was momentarily dumbfounded. When he came to his senses, he kicked the shameless Drow away, sending her flying as a rainbow-like spray of water mist scattered through the air.
What a disgusting sight. Aren't you afraid Lolth will catch you in the act? You're not afraid of Divine Punishment, but I sure am! Li Wei irritably wiped the sole of his foot against the rock.
Thanks to [xiaotang246] for the 200-reward donation, and thanks to [Reader 20180216175415206] for the 200-reward donation. Also, thanks to [Walking into a Ghost] for pointing out several typos and bugs; they've been fixed. A book readers can love is one that has been carefully polished, and I hope more shareholders will join in. I'll fix any issues as soon as I see them.
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