Upon arriving inside the Foreign Affairs Consulate, Elder Grey Falcon was escorted into a domed hall built in a distinct Federation architectural style.
There, he met Delegation Leader Xie, who had been waiting for him. The elder immediately raised the serpent staff in his hand, spread his arms, pressed one hand against his cheek, and leaned forward, performing the traditional greeting of the First Folk.
Whenever he met with foreign affairs officials from Great Shun in the past, he had always upheld the traditional etiquette of the First Folk, seemingly to preserve his people's dignity.
Yet the Great Shun officials flanking the room knew full well that when facing Federation officials, this same elder switched to a handshake.
Smiling, Delegation Leader Xie cupped his hands in a traditional salute. Once the reporters on both sides finished snapping photographs of the meeting, Xie invited him to sit to one side. Their interpreters and aides also took their seats, while a recorder tapped his boundary credential and opened a notebook, ready to take minutes.
The two first exchanged diplomatic pleasantries and spoke of past friendship before Elder Grey Falcon stated the purpose of his visit.
"Delegation Leader Xie, we need a great number of weapons and even more implants. But above all, what we need is medicine—a vast amount of medicine."
Kawatua was no longer the primitive indigenous force people used to imagine. Many of their warriors were equipped with advanced implants and protective suits, and under the guidance of Great Shun's military technical officers, they had trained a modernized army.
Moreover, at least two million people were now gathered across the Life Plateau. Every single Sacred Land Warrior they cultivated was an elite—otherwise, the West Coast Faction would not have been forced to mobilize Secret Palace martial artists this time.
However, the First Folk lacked the technology to establish their own industrial base, so all this equipment and these implants had to be purchased from outside, especially the medicine.
The side effects of implants were immense. What Great Shun supplied as aid could not possibly consist entirely of high-end products, making large quantities of inhibitors essential. They had also purchased some through black markets and overseas smuggling channels, but the supply was small, prices were volatile and exorbitant, and it was far from enough to satisfy their needs.
Delegation Leader Xie knew the elder had more to say, so he merely smiled without speaking, while the attaché beside him took notes without lifting his head.
Elder Grey Falcon continued, "We also hope your esteemed nation can provide more new-technology equipment. In recent years, the Federation's technology has advanced rapidly. Implants emerge in endless succession, with new things appearing almost every year, putting them generations ahead of us. We urgently need upgrades. Furthermore, due to the Federation's blockade, our Sacred Land Warriors lack necessary training drugs. While basic food supplies are sufficient, many unique items are very difficult for us to obtain..."
Delegation Leader Xie listened patiently without interrupting. Only when the elder finished did he speak up: "I understand your requests, Elder Grey Falcon. I only have one question: what do you plan to offer in return?"
Even if Great Shun called it aid, they would not provide it without collateral, and Kawatua had promised to repay it all in the future.
Elder Grey Falcon said, "We are willing to yield another sacred valley."
Delegation Leader Xie said, "Elder Grey Falcon, I must remind you that several sacred grounds you claimed to pledge to us previously are currently under Federation control. There is practically no way to cash in on them. In reality, we have been aiding you free of charge all along."
Elder Grey Falcon immediately replied, "We are grateful for Great Shun's support, but our existence also benefits Great Shun. We tie down the Federation's strength on your behalf. In the past, Great Shun was able to secure so many maritime interests precisely because we were in their rear, preventing the Federation from projecting its full might outward."
He emphasized, "The stronger Kawatua is, the greater the benefit to Great Shun. Supporting us is mutually advantageous."
Delegation Leader Xie looked at him. Kawatua's existence indeed served a purpose; he did not deny that. However...
"I must remind you, Elder Grey Falcon, that in the past, you have remained in retreat, letting the Federation attack you at will without seizing any strategic initiative.
"Now that we have secured the Outer Ocean islands, if you do not actively make changes, your value in Great Shun's eyes will diminish year by year—unless you take greater initiative. I am not being alarmist, nor am I threatening you; this is simply reality."
In the past, aside from heroes like Akhtawa, few among the First Folk ever took the initiative to strike out. Especially after numerous tribes relocated to Kawatua with Great Shun's help and attained peaceful, settled lives, they were rarely willing to wage war outside, mostly just waiting for the Federation's West Coast to attack them time and again.
In fact, in recent years, the small tribes forced into battle had inflicted greater losses on the Federation, because if they did not fight for their lives, they would truly perish.
Elder Grey Falcon pondered for a moment, then looked up. "We can send Tanoka Quezca's child to Great Shun."
"Oh?"
Delegation Leader Xie was somewhat surprised. Tanoka Quezca was no ordinary figure, but the High Priest of Kawatua. In the faith of the First Folk, nature deities held supreme importance, and the High Priest held a monopoly over sacrificial rites, passing down the lineage through generations of blood rituals.
That offspring was essentially the next generation's High Priest. To his knowledge, the child was at most seven or eight years old, still at an impressionable age. Sending such a child to Great Shun was a move of profound significance.
Once this condition was put on the table, it was no longer something he could decide alone. Based on his understanding of high-level leadership and weighing various factors, the authorities above would very likely accept.
He took a deep look at Elder Grey Falcon. The man no longer seemed like an indigenous elder of the First Folk, but rather like a politician. They knew how to grasp key leverage and knew what the other party truly desired.
He said, "Elder Grey Falcon, I cannot give an immediate reply on this matter, and I have many duties to attend to today. Please, Elder Grey Falcon, you and your entourage are welcome to stay here at the Foreign Affairs Consulate for now. You may rest assured of your safety here."
Elder Grey Falcon knew today's discussion had reached its end. He stood and offered a salute. "Thank you for receiving and hearing me, Delegation Leader Xie. May all spirits bless you."
Delegation Leader Xie expressed his thanks and stood to see him out. Once the guests departed, an attaché walked up and whispered a few words.
Delegation Leader Xie asked, "Are they still here?"
The attaché replied, "Ever since they arrived, they have been waiting outside. They might have already been targeted by the Operations Directorate."
Delegation Leader Xie said, "Arrange for them to enter through the side door. Call in a group of other First Folk personnel as well, distribute gifts according to protocol, and then have them settle in first."
The attaché asked, "Leader, should we arrange for them to stay with—"
Delegation Leader Xie shook his head. "Do not place them together with Grey Falcon's people. There is no need for us to resort to such petty maneuvers."
The attaché understood. "I will see to it."
Delegation Leader Xie was inundated with work. Visitors had been calling on him nonstop since yesterday, and he had various documents to sign and verify. He remained occupied until past nine in the evening before finally finding a brief moment to take a sip of water. Afterward, he took a refreshing stimulant pill and had someone summon the representatives of the small tribes.
Since there were only a dozen or so of them, all were invited up. Even young Awan was not left outside. What was more, a chair was arranged for every single person, which surprised and deeply touched all of them.
Delegation Leader Xie first asked about each of their backgrounds and spoke with them about their tribes' conditions before finally asking the purpose of their visit.
The First Folk, including Tahu, had rarely interacted with outsiders, largely because the Federation people were intensely hostile toward them; wandering even slightly too far risked abduction or death.
They had little concept of requesting aid and hardly dared to ask for much. In the end, the items requested by all these tribes combined were utterly negligible compared to what Kawatua had demanded. The weapons and implants decommissioned annually by a single mid-sized corporation would easily exceed that amount.
Delegation Leader Xie said, "I understand your requests, everyone. However, we cannot provide aid for nothing. It must be exchanged for something of value. Even our support for Kawatua is conducted this way."
In truth, Great Shun did not truly mind such a trivial amount of goods. However, aid given without cost would never be treasured, and doing it this way spared the other party from feeling as though they were receiving charity.
Sure enough, hearing this, the First Folk present found it far more acceptable.
The one-eyed elder immediately said solemnly, "We understand. Akhtawa told us about this. We have brought something to exchange this time."
Immediately, three people in their seats—including the elder himself, Tahu, and a robust man from another tribe—brought out three pieces of obsidian. They fitted the three stones together, forming an obsidian spearhead with a small notch missing.
Curiously, when brought together, the spearhead closed seamlessly on its own, leaving only faint seams visible at the joints.
The one-eyed elder said, "This is the key to our sacred ground, the sacred valley known as the Throat of the Star Spirit. Inside the sacred ground lie many offerings dedicated to the deities. The priests also promised that should we ever face a crisis, the gods would bestow them back upon the tribe's descendants.
"Although the ancient deities no longer answer us First Folk, they once aided our ancestors, so we would not take them for ourselves. But we are willing to exchange them for the supplies we need."
"The Throat of the Star Spirit..."
Delegation Leader Xie was somewhat surprised, because Kawatua had already pledged this sacred valley to them; nominally, it was already Great Shun's property.
Although they had never opened it due to various constraints, one could not give him what was already his a second time.
So he explained the situation.
The seated First Folk were initially bewildered, but then the one-eyed elder spoke in agitated anger: "The Throat of the Star Spirit is a sacred ground of the Isutar! It does not belong to the Zayite!"
The rest of them also shouted in agitation, "Right! That is not the Zayite's property! They had no right to give it away!"
In ancient history, the First Folk never had a unified realm. There were three powerful dynasties: the Zayite Dynasty in the north, the eastern dynasty of Quezatec that fled to Great Shun, and the Isutar Dynasty in the south.
Strictly speaking, modern Kawatua was primarily composed of descendants of the Zayite Dynasty; everything in the south had nothing to do with them.
Of course, as the largest First Folk power today after the successive collapses of the dynasties, Kawatua had likely taken it for granted that all these belonged to them, and then pledged them away without the slightest regret.
"Furthermore, they do not have the key!" The one-eyed elder held up the obsidian spearhead in his hand. "Without this, one cannot obtain the recognition of the ancestors and the deities! It does not belong to them!"
Chapter 1072