Enlightened Empire

Chapter 287

Although Taoco had come prepared, it was clear now that none of his fellow kings were willing to believe in his vision of the future. That could be seen in their current silence alone. When Taoco had insulted Raoman, the red king had spoken up to mediate. Now that Raoman had insulted Taoco in an even more vicious manner, the other kings remained silent. All of a sudden, the green king felt isolated among his brothers.

This was something he had been worried about for a while now, and it had been his biggest fear in today's conference. Ever since his first contact with King Corco, the green island and Rasacopa had been gaining in strength at an explosive rate. Even before then, the green king had been the most powerful of all the colored kings. With the added strength, all the remaining kings would be afraid of a hegemony of Rasacopa over the Verdant Isles. By now, it seemed like this fear had crystallized into action and had led the other kingdoms to form a loose alliance, which would guarantee that the green king wouldn't dominate them.

With a sigh, Taoco realized that he could no longer win over his brothers with words. No matter how good his intentions were, they would be seen as hidden attempts at conquest. With his options cut off, there was only one choice left, though he had hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that.

“Fine,” he began, as his face firmed up, “You do not want to believe in my words. You treat my good intentions as malicious, and would rather retain your power on a waning kingdom than to help the Verdant Folk rise up. Since my good words have fallen on deaf ears, there are other ways to negotiate.”

Taoco knew that once he made this decision, there was no way back, no more chance left for a peaceful Verdant Isles. After this, there would be war. Even so, he didn't hesitate for a second. He opened the treasure chest his servants had put in front of him before, the only one that had remained unopened. The inside of this chest was just as sparkling and glittering as the others, but it was a much colder glint that greeted Taoco. As soon as he opened the chest, the warriors behind him stepped up and reached inside. Each of them retrieved one of the short swords hidden inside the box, as did Taoco and Wacoca.

At first, all the other kings looked shocked and confused. By the time they had realized their predicament and jumped to their feet, the situation was already decided. Two of Taoco's warriors stood ready at the only entrance to the room, while the open wall to the beach was completely blocked by the other four warriors, as well as the father and son duo.

For once, the blue king's sneer had disappeared and was replaced by a blank stare.

“King Taoco, what does this mean!?” he shouted to show strength, though his voice was suppressed, to prove his weakness. “Do you intend to destroy the Verdant Isles?”

Rather than answer, Taoco reached into the box again, to take out the last object hidden inside. This time, he retrieved a short-barreled firearm, a mortar pistol his son had brought from Saniya after his last visit there. Although the other kings stepped back in fear of the weapon, Taoco had no intentions of harming them, at least not for now. Instead, he faced the open ocean and pulled the trigger.

Soon enough, the weapon released its projectile and a bright white star that rose over the coastline of Nakatara island. After the signal had been given, Taoco turned around again, to resume negotiations. This time, he was no longer worried about resistance from the other kings. This time, he held all the cards.

“What is it you are trying to do, Brother Taoco? Do you wish to spill blood in this court?” the red king tried to keep his voice calm, but couldn't hide the shaking inside. “Everything can be talked about. There is no reason to threaten violence.”

“I never wanted to threaten anyone, but it seems like all of you made your decision long before you arrived here. I have talked and talked, but in your eyes, it seems I am nothing but a joke.”

“No, brother. We certainly never-”

“Since you are unconvinced by my words, maybe my strength will play a better role.”

With his men at the back, Taoco no longer had any reason to be polite with his former equals. They had revoked that privilege the moment they had brushed off his efforts like nothing. After today, if they were smart, they would no longer have the right to talk with him on the same level. If they weren't, they would never be able to speak again.

“I talk to you about the strengths of the south, but you do not believe me. I show you their wealth, put it right in front of your faces, and you do not believe me. Well, in that case, I will see how you deny a knife to your throat. In these years, Rasacopa hasn't only gained money from our cooperation with the southerners. Money and connections can also buy us a lot of weapons.”

“A few knives, that's all. Tricks of cheats and thieves, not something one can win a war with.” Even now, in such a dire position, the blue king was still putting up a brave front.

“Hah. The childish stubbornness is what I expected of you, Raoman.” Taoco didn't even call the blue king by his title anymore. Even if the other kings were to give in and escape their fate today, Taoco was determined to make the blue king give up his role as king, either by choice or by force. “If you are not convinced by the knives in front of your face, then maybe you will be convinced by the ships behind me.”

By now, his signal flare would have been seen by his fleet, and they would have appeared from behind their cover on the edges of the island. Taoco had planned the details for today's conference for a long time. He knew that the blue king already had intimate contact with at least one of the other Medalan kingdoms, and he wasn't sure about any of the other kings. So he wouldn't be so naive to believe that he could still convince them with good arguments alone.

On the Verdant Isles, strength always spoke the loudest, so he had to back up his words with enough force. Thus, he had spent much of his recent income on new ships and new crews. Before the strife in Medala had carried over to them a few years back, the green king had already been the strongest among all the Colored Kings.

With the additional ships and the element of surprise, he had a complete advantage. After today, he would be the ruler of the Verduic Sea, and they would have to follow. His initial intention had been to convince his fellow kings and cooperate in harmony, but if he was honest, he preferred this current method over boring compromises.

With a grin, he observed his former brothers. However, he couldn't find any of the panic and confusion he had expected in their faces. Instead, they only looked conflicted, while the red king had furrowed his brows in worry. Only the blue king had returned to his gloating expression from before.

“Now look at this, fellow kings,” Raoman said as he waved his hands in Taoco's vague direction. “There stands the great green king, ready to destroy us on hallowed ground, breaking ancient vows, all in the service of outsiders. No longer one of us, his warrior spirit gone and replaced by that of a base thief, his captain's heart replaced by a merchant's. Just like I said, this one is a traitor, a servant to foreign dogs, not fit to stand among us. I believe it is time to begin.”

While he was confused by Raoman's guts, Taoco wouldn't be swayed by false bravado.

“Begin?” he asked in derision. “What, do you think you still have any sway here?”

Just as Taoco's words were finished, he was interrupted by a series of bangs from behind him. In shock, he turned around, only to see a picture he had expected the least today. His own ships had indeed left their hiding spots and showed up within the bay. However, they were already surrounded. Along with them had come eight or so strange-looking vessels with large sails and high hulls, which towered over Taoco's own ships.

“Eastern galleons,” his son muttered next to him. “How are they here?”

As he had thought, the strange ships were of oriental make, as were the cannons that had produced the smoke around them. Before anyone had realized what was going on, the enemy ships had come out of nowhere and opened fire on his own. Already, one of his own ships had begun to slant starboard. This attack had been planned for as long as his own. Taoco had been had.

“Did you think you were the only one with allies, or the only one who gathered strength these years?” the blue king's sneer sounded out again. “None of your tricks and ploys will work here, no matter how sneaky you are, thief.”

In anger, Taoco turned around and stepped towards the Colored Kings. How dare this coward accuse him like this?

“You call me a thief, yet you will not even use your own ships to stab me in the back! You call me a traitor, yet you lead these foreigners from the east towards hallowed ground, to attack good Verdant folk! Don't be so smug yet! Do not forget that I am still in control of this-”

As he marched towards King Raoman in anger, Taoco suddenly realized that something was wrong. All throughout this meeting, the blue king had remained calm and arrogant. That didn't fit at all with his character, which had always been cautious to the point of timidity. Even now, threatened by Taoco's men, he didn't seem worried, as if he had everything under control. At last, the green king realized that something was wrong, but at this point it was already too late.

“Father!” At the same time his son shouted the warning, Taoco felt the body behind him move. He only had time to turn half around until a needle of pain pricked his right side. He looked down and saw the silver glint of the short sword being swallowed by the ruby of his own flesh and blood. When he followed the arm attached to the weapon, he met a familiar face, the last one he would have expected to betray him.

“I am sorry, master,” Captain Tayali said, his face distorted in pain as if he had stabbed himself, and not the lord he had been sworn to since birth. “But we are raiders, not merchants.”

Although the pain of betrayal hit Taoco harder than the pain of the knife, he had no time to listen to his former captain.

“My son!” He shouted, and rushed past Tayali. In the back of the hall, Wacoca was already surrounded by House Hulpatec's warriors on all sides, their knives stabbing down on him without remorse. Already on one knee, the green prince screamed in pain and swung his own sword to fight back, but it was no use. The sneak attack had taken him completely by surprise, and then sheer numbers had overwhelmed the injured Wacoca. By the time the father reached his son, the young body had begun to cool down.

Numb, either from the shock or from the loss of blood, Taoco fell down to the ground as well, into the red puddle created by his son's own blood. The knife finally fell out of his flank and ripped a bloody hole, but he didn't care. In the distance, two of his ships had already sunk, and the rest were scattering in panic to escape the superior firepower and position of the foreigners.

Around Taoco stood his former warrior servants, the most trusted of all. They stood as if they were honoring the dead in a wake, their actions just more hypocrisy after their betrayal. However, none of it mattered. His son was dead.

Around him, the Colored Kings stood up one by one, and all picked up one of the short swords Taoco had taken so much thought and care to smuggle into Tullpuna Court. One by one, they stabbed into the body of the green king, to become active accomplices in the conspiracy, to tear apart one oath and seal a new one in blood. Some had faces stiff like masks, others made excuses to him, but none of it mattered anymore to Taoco. When the red king arrived to contribute his stab, it was straight into Taoco's heart, to end his suffering.

At least Raoman won't get a turn.

With this irrelevant thought, Taoco Hulpatec II, Green King of Rasacopa and head of the Colored Kings, breathed his last breath.