Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The northern sea breeze, upon reaching the valley of the central mountain range, is halted by the mountain forest. Without the sea breeze, it cannot disperse the fevered heat of the blood in the small village nestled in the mountains, nor can it disperse the dense scent of death.

"Oh Chief Divine! This bloody, foul odor, these Taino villagers?! Damn it, they’ve all fallen!..."

As Red-haired Mique and the Tai Giant Eagle, along with a dozen trusted followers and dozens of Taino Mazi, entered the small Taino village once used for resupply, they were confronted with a dire and horrifying sight!

The small village of hundreds of Taino, now deserted, without the sight of running Taino children, only a faint cry could be heard. From the Taino’s thatched huts came intermittent whispers and coughs, like birds struggling to survive in the night. Red-haired Mique glanced into the open huts and his expression turned somber.

Those children who once sang under the palm trees, now lay curled beneath large leaves, their faces covered in red spots, their eyes shut tight like unripe fruits. They were the weakest, the first to fall sick from the plague, and struggled the hardest to survive the smallpox.

The village’s water pots had long been empty, and the young adults and women of Taino taking care of the sick fell one after another, becoming patients themselves. Red-haired Mique looked around and saw only a few young women staggering between the huts, hunched over, applying ash to the children’s foreheads. Their hands trembled, and upon hearing the commotion outside, they turned to reveal faces covered in pox. The red sores on their fingers had burst, oozing mucus and blood, staining the palm leaf mats like rotten red-green seaweed.

"Oh Ancestor and Sweet Potato God! Cough cough! The tribes that worship the Chief Divine... you... you have returned?"

"We have returned! We raided the Evil Demon’s camp and rescued many of your clanspeople! Where are the warriors we left in the village to recover?"

"Ah... Ancestors protect us! They... they are almost all dead... only three remain. In the large house to the south! Cough cough! Many from our village have died, many have been buried! Now there’s a woman from the Earth Department, the chieftain’s daughter Ana, taking care of them. But Ana is also sick, and who knows how long she can hold on..."

"What! Ana is here too!! Ana! Ana!!"

Upon hearing the name "Ana," Chief Ah Xi from the Earth Department showed excitement. His steps were unsteady, as he loudly shouted and ran toward the ancestral large house in the south. Dozens of tribespeople who survived from the Earth Department followed him, like birds excited to see those of the same clan.

As for the Tai Giant Eagle, he also trembled, immediately leaving Mique behind, muttering as he hurried southward.

"Oh Chief Divine! How could this happen? Fifteen strong warriors, twelve have died from the illness, leaving only three remaining?..."

Seeing this scene, Red-haired Mique sighed and instructed the Chieftain of the West Bay Tribe, Ah Luo.

"Chief Divine protect us! Ah Luo, quickly take the remaining people and save the tribespeople who have collapsed in the village! Remember to go to the nearby mountain spring, find clean spring water, and fill the village’s water pots! Then light a bonfire, burn the ash and charcoal you mentioned, and roast mud bricks, cooking some food while you’re at it! By the way, the village’s food is stored in a few cellars over there. Further south, the grandmother from the Sky Department regularly sends supplies and will also have women from the Earth Department come over to help..."

"Yes! I’ll take the troops and go rescue people immediately!"

Seeing the miserable condition in the village, Chieftain Ah Luo’s expression was grave, and he quickly led people to get busy. Fortunately, the Warriors of the Kingdom and the archers had heard the Priest’s Divine Revelation and understood the basic mechanisms of plague transmission. They strictly controlled the movement and isolation of people in this small village, preventing the supporting Sky Department from contracting the plague and allowing for the continued supply of resources and manpower.

"Ah~ah~"

The tall peach blossom heartwood and mahogany gently swayed their branches and leaves. The stone statue of the Ancestor Spirit stood at the village center, alongside the Zemi God Card, yet no one worshiped them anymore. Further away, a dozen bodies of the weak and elderly who died of illness lay unburied, piled beside a newly dug grave mound, with an unlit pile of firewood nearby. The rotten smell spread through the tropical forest, attracting many flies and insects, making it unbearable to look directly at. The humid air gradually caused these corpses to swell, as if they were speaking, swelled up from the realm of the dead.

"Oh! Chief Divine and Earth Mother! The Warriors of the Kingdom’s bodies... haven’t been buried in time!..."

Red-haired Mique gazed from afar, recognizing the familiar yet strange Warriors of the Kingdom among the bodies that hadn’t been buried in time. They were familiar from the warriors’ war clothes and hairstyles. Strange were their swollen, poxed faces and the eyes that had fallen out. He couldn’t bear to look any longer and instructed the Taino Mazi to burn the bodies and clothes, burying the remnants that couldn’t be burned. Then he quickened his pace, toward the ancestral large house, to see Huitu Puapu. At the moment he entered, he paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and bravely looked in.

"Apu!"

"Hu... Mi...que... hu... help... help me..."

Once as strong as the West Wild Boar, Huitu Puapu now lay weakly on a grass bed, turned into a heap of mud. He stared, eyes wide, mouth open, uttering unclear murmurs. The Tai Giant Eagle stood by Puapu’s bed, eyes red, tears flowing, and lamented.

"Oh Chief Divine! Please, I beg you, send a miracle! Save him, save the brave Vanguard Warrior captain!"