#43 - Chapter 43 Alliance and Test
"Oh?"
"You want to form an alliance with me."
Located in the Goldstream Valley, inside the Gnome Clan's Base Number Two, Li Qi, having just disassembled a set of mechanical equipment, looked at the dwarf envoy before him.
Unlike many new lords, Li Qi himself didn't like staying in his main base, watching his territory grow remotely.
On the contrary, he preferred to come to the front lines personally, staying with the gnomes and goblin engineers to jointly research machinery and technology.
Although many races considered this to be detrimental to a lord's dignity, in the eyes of gnomes and goblins whose minds were filled with bombs and machinery, this was the behavior a truly qualified "lord" should have.
"Yes, this foreign lord."
The dwarf envoy looked at the gnomes and goblins around him, who were several centimeters shorter than himself, and raised his head proudly.
"His Majesty, the King of the Dwarven Kingdom, is seeking cooperation possibilities with all lords willing to cooperate."
"Seeking cooperation possibilities?"
You should know, the Dwarven Kingdom's attitude wasn't like this before.
This closed underground kingdom had indiscriminately hated all outsiders since the lords first arrived on the Trial Continent.
Even Li Qi, who specialized in lord technology and hadn't shown any aggression, received the same treatment in front of the Dwarf King.
But why would they suddenly want to form an alliance now?
What exactly happened inside the Dwarven Kingdom during this time?
Li Qi chewed on this sentence, looking at the envoy thoughtfully.
He had already guessed some things from the change in the Dwarven Kingdom's attitude, but he hadn't guessed enough, so he needed to learn more from the dwarf envoy's mouth.
"Since it's cooperation, then I want to know."
"What can I gain, and most importantly..."
Li Qi glanced at the map of Goldstream Valley and said to the envoy.
"What should I give in return?"
Hearing this, the dwarf envoy quickly spoke the words the new Prime Minister had instructed him to say.
"Lord, as a member of our dwarven alliance, please remember that you are just one part of it."
"You will receive the same trade permits as all other allies, and you will be able to use resources such as grain and wood to buy large quantities of rare ores from our Dwarven Kingdom..."
Hearing the word 'ore,' Li Qi's eyes lit up.
"In addition to ore, you will also be able to purchase weapons and armor made within our kingdom at a fair price."
"Note that I'm talking about weapons and armor made by the dwarf race, all of which are top-quality!"
The dwarf envoy glanced at the green-skinned goblin not far away, who was holding a wrench and assembling some strange device, and narrowed his eyes.
"Certainly not the junk made by some stray cats and dogs."
Hearing this, the green-skinned goblin also narrowed his eyes and silently took out a live bomb robot from behind him.
As soon as this bomb robot appeared, it immediately emitted a system alert sound indicating it was about to explode.
Judging from their appearances, it seemed there was also a chain of contempt among the dwarf races.
"Cough cough."
Li Qi immediately stood in front of the green-skinned goblin, quickly disassembling the bomb robot into parts, and said to the dwarf envoy.
"Armor and swords, I understand. Please continue..."
The dwarf envoy nodded and stated the final purpose.
"But maintaining this trade comes at a price."
"All lords participating in our trade must contribute together to maintain the dwarven alliance we are in."
"Any other lords and enemies who want to disrupt trade through improper means must be eliminated."
Hearing this, Li Qi understood many things.
【There are actually smart people among these native dwarves on the Trial Continent.】
Li Qi believed that this so-called smart person not only had an accurate view of the current situation but also knew how to use diplomacy to form a community of shared interests.
You should know that after more and more lords poured into the Trial Continent, the Dwarven Kingdom's strength was no longer as great as it once was.
Because the lords' territories and the number of soldiers were increasing at every moment, and their overall strength was getting stronger and stronger.
However, these natives in the Dwarven Kingdom were still maintaining the same old ways.
Although it would take a long time for the strength of a single lord to surpass the entire Dwarven Kingdom and directly annex it.
If several slightly stronger new lords gathered together, they would still have the opportunity to carve out a large piece of territory from the Dwarven Kingdom.
In addition, the dwarves' previous bad attitude towards the outside world made this possibility rise in a straight line.
But now, the dwarves' initiative to release goodwill and launch a policy change of foreign trade has made this possibility smaller, even approaching zero.
Because in the case of being able to trade, ninety-nine percent of the new lords would not actively clash with the dwarves.
After all, the primary task of the new lords is to obtain resource points and complete this trial.
Once their own strength is damaged due to their struggle with the dwarves, other lords who covet their territory will not hesitate to tear them into pieces and kick them back to their hometown.
Therefore, a stable and unified interest group is not only what all lords want, but also a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for the current Dwarven Kingdom!
"I understand, I am willing to join."
In order to obtain more resources to invest in the construction of his territory, Li Qi decided to join this dwarven alliance.
But what he didn't expect was that the dwarf envoy hadn't finished all the requirements.
Before joining the alliance, he would have to be "tested" a little by these dwarves.
"Then congratulations, Lord Li Qi."
"Since you want to join our alliance, then you have the qualification to temporarily join our alliance."
"Temporarily?" Li Qi was stunned. "What do you mean?"
The dwarf envoy smiled, very cunningly.
"The so-called temporary is because you must first complete a test before officially joining our alliance."
"You must send a certain number of troops, like other allies, to join our great dwarven army in reclaiming a tunnel invaded by monsters!"
"Of course, our Dwarven Kingdom is not incapable of clearing these monsters."
"But since we have formed an alliance, we must first test our allies to see if you really want to join us, so..."
"This will be the final test for you to officially become a member of our alliance."
For some reason, Li Qi suddenly felt.
Behind these dwarves, there seemed to be a big trouble waiting for him.....
A huge trouble.
