The warriors spent a sleepless night on the ruins of the settlement.
It was still the second half of the dry season in Mexico, which was early February according to the Gregorian calendar, so there was no rain overnight. Early the next morning, Shulot got up from the bonfire and went to fetch water with Tels.
The most important luggage in the rainforest is food and clean water. A semi-safari settlement cannot have too much food storage. The warriors simply plundered some bacon and cornmeal, while paying attention to unknown wild vegetables, dried fruits and insects.
No interest at all.
Orosh used strong sisal ropes to string the prisoners into two parallel strings, and then led Shulot and Tels, with half of the team leading the way, while Makali and the remaining half of the team held down the formation at the rear.
The road in the rainforest is always rugged and difficult, with tall trees blocking the sky and colorful poisonous snakes among the branches. Swamps and mud pits are everywhere under your feet, and poisonous frogs, mosquitoes and flies are among the water plants.
This is a green desert, and every still pool contains parasites and poisons.
Fortunately, Orosh was both a brave jaguar warrior and an expert in jungle survival. He applied pungent ointment to everyone, and then quickly found a river, and everyone meandered south along the relatively empty river bank.
.
Walking on the dirt side of the river, Shulot carefully kept a distance from the "dead trees" in the river to prevent encountering "surprises" like American crocodiles. At the same time, he curiously asked Orosh: "Teacher, where does this river lead to?"
?”
"This river is called Tampon. Going upstream along this river will pass through two alliance city-states. It only takes more than half a month for us to return to the holy city of Teotihuacan, and then we can walk south for three days.
The capital of the Great Alliance, the homeland promised by the Sun God to us Mexica people, Tenochtitlan, the city in the lake.
What a majestic and beautiful city it was! There were a thousand canoes laden with goods, a thousand chinampas filled with corn, a thousand communities filled with Mexica warriors, and a thousand stone-lined
The Great Temple! It is the greatest city-state in the Alliance and the center of the world. Your family and I are from there."
Xiulote nodded. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec city-state alliance and the richest and most powerful city-state. This magnificent city in the lake was eventually destroyed by the Spanish colonists and also represented the Aztec city-states.
The demise of the Ztec civilization.
Above the ruins of Tenochtitlan is Mexico City, which surrendered to God.
After thinking about the prosperity and beauty of the capital for a while, Shulot asked again: "Teacher, have you been to the lower reaches of the Tampen River?"
This time, it was Orosh's turn to fall into memories. After a long time, he replied: "Many years ago, I followed the great Montezuma I to conquer the Huastec city-states. From here along the Tampen River
Next, after walking for more than 20 days, we pass through the mountains and reach the plains. At the end of the plains and forests is the Huastec city-state of Cuxikapan.
Behind the city-state is an endless lake. The lake is the end of the world and leads to every corner of the world.
There are many remote islands in the lake, and the tribesmen on the islands will come in small boats to trade feathers, pottery and cotton cloth. Legend has it that in the north of the big lake, there is a land of endless forests. There are only savages in the forests, and there are terrifying people every year.
A divine disaster that kills all life with white ashes."
Hulot was stunned for a moment before he realized that the great lake was the Caribbean Sea, the islands were the Caribbean Islands, and the continent of forests and snow was North America. There were no mountain ranges that crisscrossed the North American continent from east to west. Whenever winter came, terrible cold currents would crisscross the North Pole.
Next, destroy all settlements and destroy budding civilizations again and again.
For the Aztecs of the Stone Age and the Early Bronze Age, the Central American city-states with warm seasons were everything in the world. In the rainforest without roads, carriages and horses, walking for three to four months, up to five or six hundred kilometers, was a long way to go.
Know the limits of the world.
In this world, the Mayan cities in the Yucatan Peninsula are foreign countries that are difficult to reach, the Caribbean islands are stories passed down from ancient times, and the Indian tribes in North America and the Inca Empire in South America are unknown legends, not to mention that they are far away on the other side of the ocean.
The Spanish conquistadors arrived at an unknown time.
Thinking about the unknown world and future, Shulot stopped talking and just followed Orosh silently. The road in the rainforest also consumed his physical strength greatly.
During the march, the team took a break because the scouts spotted a wild deer drinking water by the river.
Orosh ordered everyone to be silent. He stepped forward alone, took out a two-meter-long wooden spear, put the feathered end on the foot-long spear thrower, then held the spear thrower with his right hand, and used
Covered by trees, he hunched over and sneaked silently.
The jaguar warrior seemed to be integrated with the mountain forest. He kept sneaking until he was thirty meters away from the target. The wild deer suddenly stopped drinking water, raised his head and looked around, seeming to be aware of it. At that moment, a shrill sound broke through the air.
Oncoming, the wild deer fell heavily to the ground and lost its life in an instant.
All the warriors cheered together and shouted the name of "Jaguar". The prisoners in the distance couldn't help but show fear on their faces.
Shulot stepped forward to check, and saw that the spear was inserted into the heart of the wild deer, and the power was so strong that it came out through the body.
The young man was shocked by the accuracy and power of this long-range weapon. He said with half admiration and half envy: "Teacher, this spear throwing is so powerful, can I learn from it?"
Orosh also had a smile on his face, smiled, nodded and shook his head.
"I will teach you, but spear throwing cannot be mastered in one or two years. Soon you will enter the temple and start practicing as a priest. The alliance will never lack a Jaguar noble warrior, but every priest is sacred and important.
.”
After that, Orosh set up camp by the river and lit a fire, and asked Ters to collect the deer carcasses, peel the skins and smoke the meat. He also asked half of the warriors to hunt in the forest to replenish food. He himself took out an obsidian knife and used it on the campfire.
The sharp corners of the throwing spears are then re-modified and then dried and shaped over a fire.
The sharpness of wood and stone weapons may be comparable to that of early bronze weapons, but their durability is completely different.
After trekking like this for two or three days, the altitude gradually increased, the trees became sparse, and the view became wider.
In the distance, Shulot finally saw a wisp of smoke rising, and sparse corn growing on the vast fields. Due to slash-and-burn cultivation, there was only a vague outline of the farmland, and a large village gradually appeared at the end of the field of vision.
As the warrior team approached, the village suddenly heard the sound of sharp flutes.
Shulot saw chaotic figures gathering in the village, while Orosh led his team to stop in the wilderness about a hundred meters away from the village. Twenty warriors held shields and sticks, waiting quietly.
After a while, the team from the village swarmed out, with more than two hundred strong men holding various wooden sticks and stone spears, and a dozen hunters holding simple and fragile single bows and slings. At the front was a man wearing a feather on his head.
old man with silver jewelry.
The old man looked at the "Jaguar"'s costume, and a trace of uneasiness appeared on his face.
He hurried forward with several villagers, bowed and saluted: "Dear Jaguar Warrior, I am the elder of the village, what orders do you have for coming to our village?
We Huastec people have surrendered to the Great Alliance for more than ten rainy seasons, and the four tributes every year are paid on time. The tribute at the beginning of this year was paid early. It is not yet the harvest season, and there is no food in the warehouse.
No fur."
"The great Asiacatel has returned to the kingdom of the gods, and his brother Tisoke has ascended the throne as the new Tratoani. A grand coronation ceremony will be held this year!" Speaking of the coronation ceremony, Oluo
Shi glanced at the village elder.
A trace of fear appeared on the face of the village elder, and he immediately knelt down: "We Huastec people have never wavered in our loyalty to the alliance, and we are willing to pay more tribute to congratulate the great king on his accession to the throne."
"Very good. As long as you remain loyal to the alliance, you will not become a sacrifice in the sacrificial ceremony. We have just returned from capturing sacrifices in the northern jungle." Orosh pointed to the captives in the distance. "Now.
We need food for a hundred people for ten days, mostly tortillas and the rest black beans.”
"Of course we won't take it for nothing." Looking at the unusually ugly expression on the village elder's face, and then at the two hundred armed men not far away, Orosh thought for a moment, took out a bulging cotton pouch and handed it to the elder.
"Here are two palm-sized pieces of cotton cloth and two handfuls of cocoa beans. We have just returned from capturing prisoners and are in a hurry to return to the city. We will not stop in your village."
This sentence was like the last weight in the balance, and the village elder finally nodded bitterly.
The elder returned to the villagers and gave some loud instructions. There was a small commotion among the villagers, which quickly subsided under the elder's scolding. Then two villagers went to the largest building in the village and carried out two large buildings.
They bundled corn tortillas and came over with a big clay pot in each hand.
Hulot saw them lowering their heads and handing the corn cakes and clay pots into the hands of the warriors in fear. When they returned to the villagers, they turned into angry expressions.
Orosh weighed the corn tortillas, opened the clay pot, took a sip of the black bean puree inside, then nodded with satisfaction to the village elders, and then waved back. The warriors then waved their obsidian war clubs behind their backs.
Harvest, take the food and prisoners and leave.
After walking for a while, Shulot looked back at the village in the distance. The villagers seemed to be gathering together with crude weapons, watching the warriors leave. Smoke still rose slowly from the village, and there seemed to be fire below.
