To be honest, Li Wei had never expected Dark Ember City to take the initiative to extend goodwill—or even show weakness. Still less had he expected Lady of Corruption to send Kangerweian, her "precious son," right to his doorstep.
Out of instinctive wariness, Li Wei's first thought was what crooked scheme the other side might be plotting this time.
But on second thought, there seemed to be no need to worry.
There was no other reason: after half a century of meteoric development, Zelandia's economy and overall strength were now on an entirely different plane from theirs.
Even as one of the Underdark's dominant powers, it would be difficult for Lady of Corruption to extend her tentacles to the surface.
The Drow of Gerson were a fitting example.
At Lolth's call, those little dark-skinned fellows flew the banner of reconquering the continent all day long, yet after muddling about for thousands of years, they still had not managed to organize a single respectable campaign.
Only Lolth, with a mind just as chaotic as theirs, had no idea what she was thinking all day. Had it been a more normal racial god, they would either have been driven mad by those useless Drow, or would have long since twisted them into the most dangerous force of darkness.
Of course, the likeliest outcome of the latter would have been for forces that saw themselves as threatened to join hands and nip them in the bud ahead of time.
But Li Wei had shattered those limitations.
As a power that had likewise taken root and developed in the Underdark, Li Wei had gained recognition from Silvermoon City and Water-Drawing City through methods such as "changing identities," large-scale immigration, and binding interests together, becoming one of the surface powers of the Northlands.
This was