Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Hearing this sentence, Priest Martin instantly understood. He stared into Reinhardt’s eyes and asked.

"How much more do you want?"

"To capture a ship, it requires an extra twenty pounds! Such a Castilla Navy gunship, with the cost of construction and the cannons onboard, is worth three times the price! And if we capture that ’Saint Clarida’, it requires thirty pounds of gold! That ship has four 10-pound heavy guns, and six 4-pound guns onboard!"

Speaking of gold, Reinhardt’s face once again revealed a barely concealed longing. He froze, frowning, upon hearing such an offer. Where could he possibly find so much gold for Reinhardt? These mercenaries were too greedy...

"No way! Capturing a regular ship, an extra ten pounds of gold! Capturing the ’Saint Clarida’, an extra twenty pounds! That’s the limit of what I can agree to! If not, you can go back and wait for us to attack!"

Priest Adin shook his head in response. Reinhardt, with a fierce expression, glared at "Mr. Martin" for a long while before suddenly bowing his head.

"Alright! Then make the changes to the contract, and I’ll sign with you!"

"Hmm."

Priest Adin took back the contract, and under the moonlight took out a quill, dipped it in the ink of the on-hand iron box, and wrote a few strokes on the ’Kingdom of Portugal’ contract before handing it back. Subsequently, Reinhardt borrowed the pen and eagerly signed his name. Both parties kept a copy of the contract in their bosom, their faces displaying sincere smiles.

"Chief Divine as witness, what a strange Evil Demon!"

Warrior Captain Kepili squinted, observing the signing and writing process, feeling perplexed in his heart. Could treachery and betrayal on such a sacred battlefield be finalized with a few words and a piece of parchment? Yet looking at the expressions of the two individuals, they seemed firmly believing that this piece of skin paper represented some customary rule and trust.

"Honorable Mr. Martin! Then I’ll be taking this basket of gold back!"

"Hmm. Can you finalize the exact time and plan?"

"Almighty as witness, the sooner the better! Tomorrow, tomorrow night! The church’s priest, along with the knights and chamberlains, have already left. Columbus brought the men and ships and fled. Those sailors and captains could sneak away at any moment...and the deployment of the troops in the camp is as follows..."

Reinhardt squatted on the muddy ground in front of the church, carefully drawing the camp’s defense map, explaining the final troop distributions of the expeditionary army clearly. Since he had received the tangible gold and signed the ’Portuguese’ contract, betraying the Castilians brought no psychological burden.

"More than a hundred sailors, mostly staying on the ship with the captains. The colonial strong men are useless, just watching the cows that weren’t taken away and the horses left for breeding after being injured. The most crucial are the 124 Holy War Veterans. 30 of them are deployed in the west fence, accompanied by 20 sailors. The southern wooden wall and eastern fence have 20, overseeing our two groups of over 30 mercenaries. As for the remaining 54, they’re stationed near the small wooden fort in the middle. Right now, the camp isn’t large; they can provide support to any area at any time!"

"If the Cipangu Barbarians... Hmm, the Cuban Warriors attack, it’s best to create a big commotion in the west first to draw away some of the veterans from the middle! Then, I’ll open the south wooden wall’s door, leaving you a route to enter, and then lead a team along the wooden wall, heading east and north, to rendezvous with separated brothers on the east. You charge straight from the south! Eliminate that team of 20 veteran soldiers and then try to draw the eastern veterans and the remaining Holy War Veterans in the middle over there!..."

"This way, we mercenaries can flee directly to the coast, allowing the captains to pick us up onto the ships! To seize the ships as quickly as possible, we will not attack the Castilians at any time, merely focusing on escaping, and the fighting on shore will have nothing to do with us! And once we’re on the ships... hahaha!"

Mercenary Captain Reinhardt’s face displayed a cunning and fierce smile. He smirked for a while before saying to Martin.

"The camp is only so big, the Castilian Expeditionary Army’s greatest weakness is a lack of troops! When those veterans gather together, they’re as hard to tackle as a hedgehog. If they’re separated, they’re much easier to handle! Also, you mustn’t attack during the day! First, in the daytime, the visibility is good, making it difficult for our mercenaries to escape north. Second, the big sail ships’ cannons are very lethal, if they all aim and hit, it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience!"

"Well then, Mr. Martin of the Kingdom of Portugal, does the forty or fifty pounds of gold you spent worth it?"

"Hmm..."

Priest Adin didn’t have much battlefield experience, merely translated all the extremely detailed military intelligence for Warrior Captain Kepili. Kepili’s eyes widened, and a satisfied smile gradually appeared on his face. If this intelligence was accurate, then even if the mercenaries failed to seize the ships, the gold spent would still be worth it!

"Chief Divine bless! Very good! The Kingdom will remember your merits! You will be the first Shenluo Tribe Warrior to convert to the Chief Divine! And as long as you’re successful in capturing the ship, you might even be enfeoffed as a Military Merit Nobility of the Kingdom!"

"Uh? Mr. Martin, what did this Cuban Warrior... oh, Cuban Lord say?"

"He said, do your best! The Kingdom of Cuba will also bestow rewards upon you! Hmm, rewards and accolades that you can hardly imagine!"

Priest Martin smiled and nodded to Mercenary Captain Reinhardt. Reinhardt, personally carrying a basket of gold, also smiled brightly. Then, according to Bavarian customs, they bid farewell in Highland German.

"Der Mond wird Zeuge sein! The moon will testify to our agreement!"

"We will meet again under the sun!"

After saying that, both sides parted ways, each stepping into the shadows. The courtyard before the broken cross of the church returned to silence. Only the map erased from the dirt bore witness to the beginning of the final battle.

Another day passed, and a new night descended, with a faint mist rising over the sea. This mist resembled a thin veil, covering the jungle and coastline of northern Puerto Rico. Castilian colonial outposts were lit with fire, the Holy War Veterans maintaining their vigilance, even though many wore fatigued expressions. And in the darker forest, the shadows of the Kingdom’s Warriors, Canine Warriors, and Taino Militia moved stealthily, like ghosts in the mountain wind, bringing chilling murderous intent.

The low-lying murderous intent came from the south, bypassing the southern wall guarded by mercenaries, heading west much like last time, and the mercenaries, equally indifferent, awaited eagerly with some excitement. Reinhardt, holding a great sword, personally took charge, listening to the footsteps in the grass. Many, many footsteps, those nearby especially light, those far away heavy and dull. Then the light steps grouped and proceeded to the fence at the West Gate, stopping two hundred paces away. Following this, the sound of firestones striking, quickly igniting a bright fire.

"Snap! Snap!"

"?!"

The Holy War Veterans guarding the Western fence quickly sensed something amiss. They swiftly left the bright bonfire, raising their shields in the cover of the fence. Subsequently, star-like torches gradually lit up outside the western fence, revealing many lightly armored barbarians carrying bows, spears, and long spears on their backs.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"

"Toot Toot!"

The Holy War Veterans quickly blew the conch, preparing for battle. The veteran reserve in the middle small fort swiftly mobilized half to support the front. However, these lightly armored barbarians did not rush directly towards the gate as they did last time. They ignited strange fire arrows, aiming towards the camp. Then, amidst rapid shrieks, dozens of blazing trajectories flew, shooting in various chaotic paths before detonating into bundles of descending flames.

"?! What’s this?"

Deputy Commander Antonio’s eyes widened instantly as he personally led the men forward. He watched in shock at the erratically flying gunpowder arrows, as he saw the arrows falling, igniting the hay and wood in the settlement, he shouted a long-forgotten name!

"Almighty! Are these the Barbarians’ Gunpowder Arrows?!"