90 The Offerings (1/2)

”And now, I'd like to introduce the man himself, King Portro!”

The two huge backdoors opened slowly as the bird stepped off the platform. Then, the bird took out a massive cushion to cover the entire platform.

All the territorial rulers paid close attention to the silhouette that was entering the room.

Casually slithering in was a gigantic, emerald-green python. From the look of it, the python was at least fifteen krin long, possibly more. It licked it's massive lips and smiled to territorial rulers as it coiled up on the giant cushion.

”I'm so sorry for arriving so, so late. Please, forgive me,” stated King Portro. ”Now, let's get down to business. First, let's have you bring the offerings one by one. Those in front first and we'll make our way back.”

Following orders, the person nearest King Portro hurried up and retrieved a large pile of gold and various weapons.

Seeing the offering, King Portro nodded. ”This is acceptable. Since it was such a sudden offering, we can allow a lower bar of quality for the gifts. But remember, that's only for this time. Next…”

That territorial ruler bowed again before leaving as King Portro stored the offering, making room for the next person.

While some people were a little anxious and hopeful that their offerings would be accepted, most were happy to hear that King Portro was willing to be a little forgiving considering the circumstances.

The fourth person to go up kept a straight face as he bowed and placed his offering in front of King Portro.

The giant serpent looked at the small number of treasures and then at the territorial ruler. ”Is this all you've brought for me?”

”Yes, my king.”

”Hmm… Are you sure? Or did you just offer me less because I said I would be lenient to those who cannot come up with the usual amount?” questioned King Portro, putting a frown on that territorial ruler's face. ”Your territory is one of the wealthiest, so something like this shouldn't be too difficult, yet some before you from weaker territories have offered more.”

”I wonder, is it that you're too greedy to give the full offering or that your territory isn't worth the title as a major territory?”

”My apologies, my king. Please, accept the rest and more as my personal apology.” Without hesitation, that territorial ruler doubled the amount of treasures in front of him, finally getting Knig Portro to smile.

”Very good, you're a smart man indeed. Next…”

They continued down the line, slowly reaching the middle of the crowd. Soon, it was the elephant's turn, who proudly marched to the front and bowed. ”My king, please accept this generous offering from my Mammoth Territory.”

King Portro chuckled, ”This is quite the sum, the most of anyone thus far. Even for a normal offering, it's quite generous. I'll remember this for sure.”

”Thank you, my king.”

As the elephant walked back to his seat, he smirked toward the jaguar and Rathe in the back.

The jaguar laughed, unconcerned about the elephant. He knew that the elephant couldn't touch his military-based territory. Though the elephants had a lot of wealth, the jaguar's territory was quite strong in terms of military force, hence why the elephants sought their help to contain the gorillas.

The dozens of territorial rulers continued with their offerings. None were rejected, but none tried to short-change King Portro after he caught the one ruler giving less than expected. They understood that King Portro had investigated their territories and had based his expectations on that.

Soon, the back row was finally going up with their offerings.

The jaguar sent up and bowed as he laid out his offering. ”My king, my territory isn't known as the wealthiest, but it does contain one of the region's greatest military assets. Our armies are some of the fastest and strongest there are, and they'll also be at your command when the need arises.”

”Good, I'm glad to hear that. Thank you. Next…”

As the jaguar smiled and turned away, Rathe chuckled and strolled up to the front casually. While everyone else was dignified and approached the king as if they were parading their strength and status to the public, Rathe hummed and scratched his neck as he made his way to the front.

Many of the other rulers were startled by his nonchalant behavior, including the elephant, who hoped Rathe would get rejected and shown his place.

Once he stood in front of King Portro, Rathe gave him a quick but low nod. ”King Portro, I'm sure you've heard that we've established the Iron Territory not even a year ago, so I ask that you take that into consideration when receiving our offering.”