Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The April wind blew in from the sea, bringing with it the salty and seaweed-laden air. Tall masts stood before the natural harbor. Out of the twelve large ships of the Castilian Expeditionary Army, only eight remained.

Fleet Commander Columbus had already set sail a few days prior, leading four Caravel ships with 140 armed explorers towards the southeastern chain of islands inhabited by the "Caribbean Natives." His prayers before departure still lingered in the sailors’ hearts, an elusive hope for retreating.

"Witness Almighty! I, Fleet Commander and great navigator Columbus, will surely find new, rich islands for the Queen, seize their territories, and conquer their tribes... I will also build another safer Queen Isabella’s Castle for the Queen!... "

"May the Holy Mother protect us! Set sail! Follow the great navigator!... "

In Commander Columbus’s exploration fleet, over a hundred sailors across four ships were his trusted confidants, already swayed by him. The remaining forty Holy War veterans, in the eyes of Deputy Commander Antonio and Veteran Camp Commander Pedro, were all devoted soldiers to the Queen and to them. Entrusting these Holy War veterans to Columbus instead of the Shenluo Mercenaries he requested, naturally harbored some defensive implication. The arrangement of Captain Dracos was also another means to counterbalance Columbus.

However, when the exploration fleet departed from the harbor, Columbus became the highest leader, holding the "Commander" position granted by the Queen, along with Bartolomeo’s careful wooing. Despite their loyalty to the Queen, which side would these veterans eventually take? It’s still uncertain...

"Almighty! Hopefully tonight, those hateful red-haired barbarians won’t come to harass us again! They have continuously attacked for a week, each time suddenly drumming and shouting from the south, then stealthily launching arrows!... "

"Höllenhund! Damn Castilian officers! They only know how to place us brave Shenluo Mercenaries at the forefront! Over this week, five or six mercenaries have died; three are missing, and more than ten have been shot! The arrows of these barbaric natives seem to be coated with some devil’s poison! Even if not fatally wounded, any hit mercenary becomes crooked-mouthed, drooling, limbs weak, unable to fully recover within a week, with the possibility of aftereffects... Evil arrows cursed by a devil!... "

Sneering, Shenluo Mercenary Captain Reinhardt grumbled, standing before a mud-smeared fence, squinting towards the darkness in the south. Behind him, a large bonfire burned, and thirty armored Shenluo Mercenaries, armed with guns and bows, were cautiously spread around, occasionally glancing towards the south. The southern wooden wall was built for several hundred meters at both ends, progressing very slowly due to the harassment by Cipangu Natives. In areas of large gaps, fences were smeared with mud, crudely serving as a defense.

This week, the damn Cipangu Natives seemed fixated on this position. They continuously launched night attacks from the south here. They left behind five or six bodies, but their achievements were significantly greater than their losses!

These barbaric natives even captured three mercenaries alive. Then, during the day, two miles away, they openly beheaded two of the mercenaries alive before the defending army, chopping them into dozens of pieces and hanging them on trees! The blood-curdling lowland German screams, the sight of flesh and entrails hanging on the trees, made even the notoriously ruthless Shenluo Mercenaries feel fear from the bottom of their hearts! What terrified and unsettled the mercenaries more was their terrible predicament, being used as cannon fodder by the Castilians, with no way out!

"Heilige Scheiße! I, Reinhardt, am truly ill-fated to be recruited by that idiot Columbus and board this large ship to the devil’s land! Those damned, grass-eating Castilians! They seemingly never intended for us to return alive! Even the opportunity to leave this dangerous, wretched island for the southeastern exploration... they left us none at all! Damn Columbus has betrayed his promise! He has also betrayed us, sold us mercenaries out!... "

Speaking of Columbus’s departure, Shenluo Mercenary Captain Reinhardt was filled with resentment, his eyes bloodshot with anger. He had completely realized a fact, which was they Shenluo Mercenaries had long been abandoned by the Castilians! Those Castilian officers never intended to let them live!

To know that they were mercenaries drifting from Shenluo to Italy, from France to Iberia countries, they were true veteran soldiers! If not trapped on this miserable island, without a single ship, suppressed by the Castilian Holy War Army, and language barriers with East Indian natives... he would have long fled with his men!

Damn it! If it wasn’t an absolute last resort, how could they Shenluo Mercenaries end up like this, being used as cannon fodder by the Castilians? To know that they set out from Castile with a full 180-strong mercenary brigade! Over four months of fighting until now, through storms, fleet disappearances, repeated ambushes, and skirmishes... the entire mercenary brigade had been reduced to just 65 men, with more than ten wounded, struck by poison arrows!

"Holy Mother! I beg you, please save us!... "

"Be it Almighty or the Devil! I, Reinhardt, vow to you, as long as you can save my and my brothers’ lives... I am willing to give up all my possessions, offer our souls!... "