Indeed, Taoco himself understood that he had gone too far. Although everyone in the room knew that Raoman had unclear dealings with one of the Medalan kingdoms, the blue king had been sneaky in his plots. So far, the green king had not been able to find any solid proof for his actions. Thus, any accusation like this would be considered terrible form by the other kings.

After all, despite their differences, they were still brothers in name and had to keep up appearances. Taoco gave the red king a grateful look. Without his intervention, the entire meeting would have been derailed and the blue kin g would have had an excuse to simply storm off. At that point, all of today's preparations would have been futile.

“Fine, I apologize,” he said towards the blue king, though he didn't bow his head. “Brother needs to excuse my rudeness. The changes in Medala are something I feel very passionate about, so I was rash. I think the developments in the southern kingdom are the key to our future as well, which is why I am so determined to convince everyone of the same ideas. Though since you are unconvinced, please allow me to do so with more than just words. This way, I am sure we will find an agreement soon. Prince Wacoca, let the servants bring in the treasures.”

All throughout the negotiations, Wacoca had been a silent shadow behind his father, but now he stood up and left the room. When he returned only moments later, he came back with several of the green king's warrior servants, led by Captain Tayali, Rasacopa's most important commander.

Of course, the warriors didn't carry their weapons in honor of Nakatara's oath. Instead, they were armed with wooden boxes. In front of every king, one such box was placed, for them to inspect. When the kings opened their presents, they were confronted with glittering gold and silver, rare dyes and other precious treasures.

Over the top of his own box, a satisfied Taoco began to explain.

“All of these treasures have been acquired either from or through trade with the southern kingdom of Medala. Now that you have all these treasures in front of your own noses, maybe you will believe in the strength of the south. In fact, there is no need to talk about the future, you can already see the changes that cooperation with the southern kingdom has brought us. With their help, we have started to transform the Green Island and all of its subservient islands over the past few years. For one, the southern king has provided us with plenty of cheap metal tools to help us clear out the forests in the centers of the islands. The Verdant Folk have been given the greatest, richest land in the world, yet we have failed to make the best use of them all these generations. Most of our land is still controlled by birds and beasts, our mighty warriors too scared to march inland. Instead of tigers and mosquitoes, we should be the masters of this land, and we should have control over the inland.”

The other kings nodded their heads. They themselves had been frustrated by the ferocity of nature on the Verdant Isles. Although they called themselves the kings of the islands, in many cases they could control less than a tenth of their own territory, while the rest was covered in wild jungle. It was a common problem, and a solution to it could unite the kings. Now that even the blue king agreed with his reasoning, Taoco once again saw hope for peaceful cooperation.

“We also received the permission to buy the southern kingdom's fertilizer, the only foreign nation to attain this privilege,” Taoco continued with more enthusiasm. “After years of using the fertilizer and opening up the land, our harvests have increased by ten times over. On top of that, we can freely travel to the southern kingdom to buy and sell products. There are many things they need and pay good money for, and we can buy their products cheap and sell them to other nations around us, all for a hefty profit. That is even better and easier money than robbing merchants or raiding the shores. In the future, the southern kingdom will continue to grow, and take us with them to the top. On top of that, we have negotiated deals about technological support from the southern kingdom, which will put us on par, or above, our enemies when it comes to the use and production of modern weapons. If nothing else, their shipwright technology will make us strong enough to withstand the mounting foreign pressure.”

Taoco paused for dramatic effect, before he stressed his position one final time.

“Their physicians have created rare miracle cures, and will soon develop a medicine for tropical fever. Together with the cheap iron tools and a concentrated effort by all our servants, we will fully conquer the jungles of the Verdant Isles and become their true masters. At the same time, cooperation with the southern kingdom will bring us great riches and strength. Believe me, with the southern kingdom, our enemies are nothing to speak of, and our future looks bright.”

Although Taoco's speech had been enthusiastic, and detailed to boot, the other kings looked a bit embarrassed, while the blue king still sneered at him. In the end, it was once more the red king, who spoke up.

“The future is beautiful because it could be anything,” he began. His words were careful, taking care not to offend anyone. “It is easy to say this thing or that thing will happen, but so long as there is no proof for any of them, an alliance with the southern kingdom, and offending the other two, seems like an unreasonable risk. After all, the southern kingdom has technology and strength, but so do the others. If all the new Medalan knowledge comes from the eastern foreigners, would it not be better to work with those who are closer to the orientals?”

Taoco shook his head.

“The northern kingdoms are mere pawns for the foreigners. They have not been entrusted with any important technologies. On the other hand, the King of the South himself has lived in the Orient for years and gained his own subordinates there. Thus, he has a critical advantage over the other kings, which is reflected in the strength of his kingdom. Again, seeing is believing. If you do not trust my words, you are free to visit their capital of Saniya for yourselves and see just what has been happening there. In fact, you do not even have to travel that far. My son has spent much of his previous few years in the city, and can inform you exactly on their development during that time.”

“Thank you, honorable father.”

Once he was called upon again, Wacoca stood up to speak. First he bowed to his father, and then to the rest of the Colored Kings, who listened to his words without expressions.

“Honorable Colored Kings, this junior has been on diplomatic missions in Medala for half a decade now. In fact, this junior was present when the Medala Empire was first split into the three kingdoms. Even more, this junior and arrived to live in the southern kingdom's capital shortly after King Corcopaca took over the land. At the time, their capital of Saniya was simply a quaint little Yaku town, with no more than ten thousand people in it. In only four years, the city's size has swelled to almost four times that number. In that time, they have established free schooling for all servants of the king, which include most people in the city by now. They also built public bath houses, sewers all throughout the city, a giant shipyard which uses modern technologies from the east to mass-produce modern ships and many other great achievements that most countries would need to spend decades of effort on.”

While Wacoca paused for effect, his father observed the other kings. Most of them still didn't show their emotions, but the blue king finally showed a frown. At last, Taoco's opponent began to look worried.

“Within those short few years, that quaint little town has developed into one of the greatest cities of Medala,” Wacoca continued, “and it is still growing. In Saniya's ports, one can see ships from all over the Verduic Sea come and go every day. This junior has grown up in Rasacopa, and has also been a guest in Medala's capital of Arguna before. Among all the places this junior has experienced, Saniya has been the liveliest and most energetic. On every street, there are large building projects, private or public. Around every corner are opportunities, or new things never before seen in these parts of the world. At its current speed of development, Saniya will become the center of Medalan culture, economy and politics in less than ten years. If the Verdant Isles become their allies now, when they are still weak and underestimated by the world, we will be highly valued by them in the future and we get the chance to grow with them and compete with them in the future. If we only join their ranks after they have dominance over the Twin Isles, there will be no gains for us. Thus, this junior believes that today is the time to make a decision.”

Satisfied with his son's words, Taoco nodded his head. Wacoca's explanation had been calm and honest. At the same time, he had properly shown those kings the right path ahead and stressed the urgency of their position. At this point, the green king was sure that he already had the other kings in the bag. However, before any of the Colored Kings could be convinced by his son's testimony, the blue king's discordant voice interrupted again.

“And what do you know about anything, brat? Are the words of a single boy enough to sway the minds of kings? Did you count the number of people in that town yourself? You could have been fooled by the foreigners, only shown what they wanted you to see. Even worse, you could have already been bought. Maybe you and your entire kingdom are already in their pockets, and now you are making up stories to make us hounds of that southern king, just the same as you.” The blue king spoke in a loud voice, but he was completely calm, as if everything was within his control. “In the end, you are nothing but a foreign dog, just like your father.”

“You dare to repeat that, you pretender!?”

Although he had restrained himself before, now all of Taoco's patience was used up. He rushed to his feet and reached for his weapon, only to realize that his belt was devoid of his axe today. All the while, the blue king continued as if he hadn't heard Taoco's threat.

“As for those so-called 'treasures' you put under our noses: Any third-rate kingdom could come up with this much gold and silver, even your backwards town of Rasacopa. All other promises and claims you have made are fleeting clouds, empty promises, fancy words. Face it, your precious southern kingdom has nothing to offer except pretty lies, as do you.”

Although the blue king continued with his nonsense, none of the other kings spoke up.

At this point, Taoco didn't get angry anymore. He had no leisure to bother with anger. With a solemn expression, he looked at the other kings in the room. Some of them looked calm, some of them dodged his eyes. Either way, the situation didn't look too good for him. Not even the red king, Taoco's closest ally, spoke up to interrupt Raoman.