Azka King's Trump Card

Seeing the scene fall silent in an instant, Commodore Adkin once again sank into self-doubt and questioned his entire life. "I calmed things down that easily. Am I really only suited for fighting and killing?"

"You are... Major Longinus of the Marines? Cobra has mentioned you to me quite a few times. He speaks of you with great admiration. Now, let me hear what you, the Marine Hero, have to say."

Although the King of Alabasta still sounded somewhat condescending, that was already enough to make everyone in the hall look sideways.

After all, even the Kings of Crete and Hisca had been reprimanded by him in the tone of a superior. Clearly, this Marine major held a position in the King of Alabasta's eyes that was likely higher than that of the other kings.

The other two kings had clearly done their homework as well. They knew that this Marine major was practically the symbol of the G2 Branch, and that it was not impossible for him to grow into a true Big Shot of the Marines in the future.

Therefore, the two kings also said courteously, "Major Longinus, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

That immediately caused the eyes of the noble ladies and wealthy madams who had originally only coveted Longinus's looks to ripple once more.

"Southern Lodestar Island is vast. Accommodating four kingdoms would not be difficult, and the reason you kings wage war is ultimately to achieve better development."

"For example, although the Hisca Kingdom is wealthy, its territory is small and its resources scarce. It is often at a disadvantage in free trade, which is why it longs for more land."

"The Crete Kingdom lies in a hilly region, with rivers running in every direction. It lacks plains suitable for growing grain on a large scale, so its need for food is the greatest among the four kingdoms."

"Alabasta has vast territory and powerful military forces, but in reality, its internal conflicts are severe. It also lacks water sources, making it difficult to sustain a prolonged war."

When Longinus first pointed out the shortcomings of their own country, the Kings of Hisca and Crete had already begun frowning. Only after hearing that Alabasta's situation seemed hardly better than theirs did they cast disdainful looks at the King of Alabasta. They thought to themselves that it was no wonder the old fellow had come to participate in peace talks, while also marveling at Longinus's grasp of the overall situation.

The King of Alabasta frowned slightly and moved his lips as if he were about to say something. But soon, his expression relaxed, and he gestured for Longinus to continue.

"The Azca Kingdom has the largest granary among the four kingdoms, but it suffers from a lack of suitable trade channels. That is why it covets the Hisca Kingdom's trade ports."

"Hmph!" King Azka snorted unhappily and said no more.

"In my view, the four kings can actually complement one another in terms of their needs, trading and developing together. If today's peace talks can be transformed into a mutual-assistance alliance, it will be a major step forward for the development of every kingdom."

"If you take the long view, there are more than a dozen countries on Lodestar Island alone. Beyond Lodestar Island, countless wolves are waiting to pounce. The threat of pirates will never disappear. On top of that, every year, you kings must offer a considerable fortune as Celestial Gold, which is yet another heavy burden."

"So, the true threat actually comes from outside. If the four kings can set aside their past prejudices and cooperate wholeheartedly, then perhaps, in several decades, this sea will have four more top-tier powers."

Under Longinus's analysis of the situation and his soul-stirring persuasion, the atmosphere in the hall gradually grew oppressive.

Seeing Longinus stir up such a storm even in a situation like this, the noble ladies and wealthy madams stared at him with burning eyes, as if they wanted to swallow him alive. Some parts of their bodies even grew faintly feverish, making them blush and clamp their legs together in embarrassment.

The Kings of Hisca and Crete were the first to state their positions. "If the other two kings are equally sincere, we are willing to set aside our past hatred and prejudice and begin cooperating."

"Cooperation..." The King of Alabasta lightly tapped the armrest, seemingly unable to make up his mind.

King Azka, however, let out a mocking laugh. "I have no objection to the rest, but there is one point. Before beginning that so-called alliance of yours, I hope the King of Alabasta will compensate me with ten billion Beli in war reparations."

"Hiss!"

Numerous sounds of sharply inhaled breaths suddenly rang out through the hall. Had King Azka gone mad? Although they now knew that the Alabasta Kingdom was not as powerful as it appeared, the war was still, at least for now, firmly in the Alabasta Kingdom's favor. Was he trying to force the King of Alabasta into a final, decisive battle with them?

Cobra's father, who had still been hesitating, seemed to have had the shackles around his heart unlocked by King Azka's arrogant words. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "King Azka, did I hear you correctly? Do you feel that your life has been too comfortable and want to experience what it is like to fall into ruin?"

"Heh heh! Before saying something like that, you should take a good look at yourself. Don't think I don't know about the tricks you pulled during this war. If you don't want to lose all face or even be expelled from the ranks of the member nations, you'd better be sensible and agree to my demand." King Azka arrogantly raised his chin, convinced that he had seized his opponent's vital weakness.

The people in the hall began whispering among themselves. King Azka's attitude suggested that he had something to rely on.

Longinus frowned slightly. It seemed that the matter of Alabasta secretly contacting pirates was not known only to Cobra. But did he really think that such a scandal could bring down the King of Alabasta?

After all, secretly recruiting pirates was practically an unspoken understanding among the various countries. There were even official pirate forces like the Eight Treasures Navy. When King Azka's arrangement to contact pirates and ambush an enemy fleet two years ago had been exposed, it had merely damaged Azka's royal prestige and national credibility by one degree. The actual impact had been minimal.

In short, in the eyes of the World Government, as long as no one plotted a riot or rebellion, or became involved in a heinous incident such as the Poneglyph that might overturn the government's rule, that rotten regime would not care very much.

Thus, the King of Alabasta said calmly, "Oh? Are you referring to my hiring pirates to join the war? I hereby engage in deep self-reflection, and in front of Commodore Adkin, I guarantee that nothing like this will ever happen again."

"Well, I've already said what you wanted to say for you. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Seeing the King of Alabasta act like a shameless rogue, the other royal nobles were both furious and helpless. The old fellow truly no longer cared one bit about royal dignity.

What were they supposed to do now?

The nobles of Azca, meanwhile, were sweating for their king. When he had launched his attack, he probably had not expected the old fellow to respond so decisively.

Who knew that King Azka would still look completely composed? With a derisive laugh, he said, "King of Alabasta, you're truly practiced at evading the main issue and focusing on minor details! Unfortunately, you may not have realized that my intelligence is far more thorough than you imagine."

"You deliberately moved the peace talks forward to tonight. It wasn't because you had urgent domestic affairs and couldn't remain away from the country for long. You did it for only one reason: to make it convenient for a certain Great Pirate you contacted to act in secret and kill all of us inside this palace!"