Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The ancient tomb cluster of Ant Mound City quietly sleeps underground, with the reliefs of owls and skeletons together guarding the ancestors of the Ancient Zapotec people. Countless burial goods and gold and silver lie dormant more than ten meters below, just like the burial complex under the Alban Holy Mountain.

The gold and silver of the entire Central America, aside from being cast into idols, are mostly buried in this manner in pyramids, or in tombs near pyramids. From the ground they come, and to the ground they return.

Of course, with the pride of the Avit Divine King, he disdains to excavate the tombs of the Sabotek Divine Race, unless something highly significant, a "divine artifact," is buried within. He lingered for seven or eight days in Sazira Ant Mound City, ascended the single pyramid temple which the Zapotecs did not consider high. Once the legionaries were reassembled, and the conversion ceremony completed, he wielded the divine staff once again, pointing southward.

"Under the Chief Divine’s protection! Leave a thousand men stationed! Continue southward, to Sunflower City, fifty li to the south!"

The royal banner moved, and the army headed south again. The "Great Water River" traversing Oaxaca ran parallel to the army, flowing from north to south, bringing spring water from the mountains to irrigate the green fields of the highland. The Zapotec villages along both banks of the river were quite prosperous, as even small ordinary villages grew many peanuts for oil pressing. Facing the Mexica legion, Zapotec villages dared not resist, and the chieftains and village heads all bowed their heads in submission. By sending out a squad of samurai, one could easily recruit a lot of food.

In this densely populated core area of the Zapotecs Tribe, however, they did not encounter the expected fierce resistance. This surprised both Xiulote and Avit.

"Xiulote, I said, the gap between the upper and lower classes of the Zapotec people is greater than that of the Mixteco people. As long as no Divine Descendant incites them, ordinary Zapotecs Tribe people lack both the will and the force to resist! At most, they just hand over the food originally given to the City-State Divine Descendant to us!"

"Yes! Teacher, you foresaw!..."

The army of over seven thousand did not spend much time in the villages along the way. Only four days later, they arrived at the foot of Sunflower City. True to its name, Sunflower City planted many sunflowers. These sunflowers stretched across the terraced slopes of the hillside as a crop rich in oil and starch. In the shared culture of Central America, it was the "flower of the shield," symbolizing the sun and war. When Xiulote raised the Divine Eye Glasses to gaze at Sunflower City on the small southern hill, his brows gradually furrowed.

"Teacher, this Sunflower City... does not seem easy to conquer."

"Oh?"

Avit also picked up the Divine Eye Glasses. The southern mountains suddenly rose from the valley, with the "Great Water River" blocked by the mountains, turning westward. And right there, at the confluence of mountain and water, on the gray ridge planted with sunflowers stood a small Zapotecs City-State, Sunflower City.

This small city, built with local materials, sat on a mountain leaning against the waters, and a circle of limestone walls were constructed. The walls were also four meters high, perhaps less, but built on a small mountain that was dozens of meters high. On those gray-white walls, carvings of the Rain Divine and Wind God, along with curved long-nosed bat patterns, bear traces of antiquity. The Zapotecs Warrior and Militia guarding the walls also seem ready, having set up arrow-shielding sheds and stockpiled many stones.

After all, the most lethal asset of the northern "Nava Barbarians" is their dense arrows. The hardest to breach is their thick hide. The Zapotecs Nobles are not foolish; they quickly learn from wars, especially in a mamtter of life and death for the Divine Descendant, during this Divine War...

"The north is river, the south is mountain... Such terrain makes it difficult to deploy forces, and impossible for a multi-facing siege. Though the city is not large, it only needs two thousand strong men to man the walls, teacher, this Sunflower City is not easy to conquer; we must wait for the Mixteco Cloud’s mortar cannon to arrive!"...

Avit furrowed his brow, moving the Divine Eye Glasses, observing repeatedly for a long time. Afterwards, he gave a few instructions to his confidant, sending a Zapotecs speaking envoy, to demand the surrender of Sunflower City’s defending army.

The envoy seemed to stir up much chaos within the city. Yet after two full days of waiting, the head of the Mexica envoy was hung on the city walls. This act successfully enraged the Divine King, Avit, who asked with a stern face.

"Who is the Divine Descendant City Lord of Sunflower City?"

"It’s Niza Peche, the ’Warrior with the Face of the Sun’, ’Son of the Sun’!"

"Niza Peche, Son of the Sun? What is this Zapotecs Divine Descendant, daring to call himself the sun like me?"

Upon hearing the name, Avit laughed coldly. Without hesitation, he declared the opponent’s fate under the royal banner.

"I will use his head as the third Zapotecs candle holder!"

"Deploy two Bow Samurai thousand-man camps with sufficient arrows! Climb up for archery, test the mettle of this Sunflower City!"...

With insufficient forces, only more than seven thousand men, Avit did not order a strong attack, but merely had two archer camps attempt harassment from both wings. The fierce arrows shot up from the mountainside, were mostly blocked by terrain and arrow-shielding sheds, only a few arrows could hit and take away some unfortunate Zapotecs Militia.

After the alliance’s archer samurai shot seven or eight waves of arrows, seeing little effect, they continued to climb, getting closer. Upon nearing the range of the city walls, the Zapotecs’ counterattack followed suit. Those short bow arrows caused little harm, but with the terrain’s elevation, the power of their stones was astonishing; with a height difference of at least ten to twenty meters, any hit would bypass even heavy armor, bound to lead to serious injury or death!

"Teacher... this archery too costly... We’ve gone south all the way, and do not have many arrows left. Better to have the bow samurai return first, cut off this Sunflower City’s external routes in all directions, then wait for further support!"...

"Hmm."

With Xiulote’s stepping stone, Avit nodded, restraining the anger in his heart. Soon, the retreating horn sounded from below the mountain, as two thousand bow and arrow samurai carrying dozens of warrior corpses retreated. And the joyous cheers echoed from the city head of Sunflower!

"The Nava have retreated! The Nava have fled!"

"Mountain’s bone, fire’s eye, sun reflected face... sacred Sun Face King!"

Xiulote squinted toward the city head, at the Sunflower City Lord Niza Peche holding high a sunflower-shaped shield. He shook his head lightly, no second glance.

In front of an absolute disparity in strength, everything was already destined. In years past, Sunflower City’s terrain was indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the era has changed! Compared with the unbreakable fortresses like Cloud Serpent Mountain City and Cloud Mountain City sitting on mountain tops, unreachable by mortar strikes, he could at least find three half-mountain locations to bombard Sunflower City’s walls. Once the walls are breached, the alliance warriors will surge in, and Sunflower City’s downfall will merely be within a day. However, before the mortar cannon arrives, patience is required.

"Then wait!"...

As long as the Divine King can restrain the urge for a strong assault, Xiulote is not in a hurry. The alliance’s army formally set camp, the high royal banner standing at the center of the camp.

When Xiulote returned to his royal tent, he first washed his hands, and then lit a cluster of divine smoke. Afterwards, he slowly picked up freshly harvested kui grass, muttering to the Chief Divine of Teotihuacan Holy City and performed divination twice. Yet, the results of these two times were vastly different, one auspicious, one ominous!

"Upper Dui Lower Kun, Marsh Land Gathering Hexagram... seems auspicious? What does it mean? I can’t remember. But judging direction, it is Great Prosperity in the West Dui Palace?"...

"Upper Qian Lower Zhen, Heaven Thunder No Mistake Hexagram... seemingly ominous?... judging direction, its Great Misfortune in the East Zhen Palace?"...

Xiulote furrowed his brow tightly, meditating silently. The ethereal divine smoke lingered in the royal tent, also blocking his vision.

He couldn’t see, two or three thousand miles in the west, three Ocean Shielding Ships of Wind God already loaded with Western Sea Craftsmen, livestock poultry, also two neighing warhorses, docked at the Lerma River’s estuary, Three Rivers City of Great Lake County. The Great Lake Commissioner Monkey Kuluka smiled as he warmly embraced the Chief Priest of the fleet Miki, chatting happily.

Meanwhile, in the east, eight thousand miles away, the vast Castilian Expeditionary Army fleet finally, carrying marks of storm damage, docked at a fertile tropical island! Facing the villages abundant yet defenseless of the Taino People, the colonists’ greedy gaze saw only prosperity and weakness, villages with thousands of population, yet no metal weapons!