Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 1042 - 632: The Second National Exploration, The Old Militia’s Wrath

Chapter 1042: Chapter 632: The Second National Exploration, The Old Militia’s Wrath

"Hiss! What a bizarre thing!..."

The market was bustling with activity, the sunlight warm and pleasing. The White Mouse sat cross-legged on the ground, staring blankly as Priest Tomate walked away before snapping back to reality. He shuddered suddenly, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"No, this isn’t right! I am the Stone Mouse, not some White Mouse... What just happened? It must have been the Priest’s magic!"

Stone Mouse frowned, his face shifting between shades of green and red. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out three gemstones, gazing at them greedily for a while before bursting into a wide smile.

"Haha, three gemstones! Praise the Chief Divine! He bestowed these gems upon me!... Huh?!"

Stone Mouse muttered a quick prayer, but quickly realized his slip. His face turned pale again, and he fearfully clamped his hand over his mouth.

"Uh... that Radish Chief Divine, surely He isn’t really watching me, right? Otherwise, maybe... maybe I’ll just call myself White Mouse! ... Exchanging a name for three gems, that’s worth it!"

White Mouse murmured to himself, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He inexplicably recalled the words Priest Tomate had said, his heart wavering.

"Will the Chief Divine grant me light? No matter my origins, no matter the wrongs I’ve committed? As long as I convert to the right path... Damn, damn it, such a sinister priest!"

After a while, White Mouse slapped himself hard across the face with a resounding "slap" to rid himself of the magic the priest had left behind. Then, he glanced around, and while no one was paying attention, he suddenly pulled out an exquisite and ancient Stone Mirror from his pocket!

This exquisite Stone Mirror was similar to the previous one, with a Divine Rune carved in the center, Cinnabar red infiltrating the edges, and gold carvings on the surface. Under the sunlight, the exquisite Stone Mirror shimmered slightly, revealing its extraordinary origins and precious value at a glance!

White Mouse quietly placed the exquisite Stone Mirror in the corner of a pile of ancient mirrors. After a moment of thought, he covered it halfway with other ancient mirrors, revealing only a crimson and gilded edge. Then, with a smile on his face, his eyes darted around, waiting for the next "discerning" big fish.

"Once this one is sold... I need to find that mysterious Corn Man and resell a few ancient mirrors I’ve discovered... after all, without a touch of red, a bit of gold plating, and some Divine Runes, how can one display the divinity and preciousness of ancient artifacts?..."

White Mouse’s thoughts wandered far. He glanced around again, noticing that the bald-headed Maya who had been standing beside him earlier had also walked far away.

"That man looks like a wealthy one, accompanied by an old servant carrying spears and two male servants holding goods. But Maya merchants tend to be more shrewd, not as easy to deceive as the Highland merchants... Chief Divine, watch over me!"

People bustled, vendors cried out. Mayan merchant Tikalo, dressed in a blue robe, strolled through the market casually. The old Militia Chiwaco walked beside him, carrying spears on his back. Behind them followed two young stragglers, Apprentice Dark Snake, and the young sailor Didi.

"...This old guy..."

Tikalo glanced sideways at the old Militia who was trailing alongside, feeling a genuine toothache. After a moment’s contemplation, he continued with a faint smile, heading towards another busy area of the market. Chiwaco, sure enough, changed direction clearly, following him.

This bustling area seemed dedicated to selling ancient artifacts. Hundreds of vendors sat on the ground, selling the old "Divine Objects" they had gathered from various ruins. Apprentice Dark Snake hadn’t taken a few steps before hearing a call in Navajo, with an accent similar to that of the Telascallan people.

"Selling Divine Objects, selling Divine Objects! Divine Sculptures from the First Ancient City! A warrior’s small sculpture to make you a strong warrior, a priest’s small sculpture to give you priestly enlightenment..."

A middle-aged vendor spotted the group passing by, his eyes lighting up. He shouted loudly, looking at Dark Snake, actively selling his wares.

"This young Priest Apprentice, would you like to buy a priest sculpture? This comes from centuries ago, a respected leader from the First Ancient City carried it with him for fifty years! Before dying, he infused all his knowledge and mana into the sculpture, waiting for the next successor..."

Upon hearing the call, Apprentice Dark Snake paused. He glanced at the priest’s small sculpture, then shifted his gaze. His eyes finally rested on a warrior sculpture carved from black rock. This warrior held a bow and arrow, with a Black Serpent coiled at his feet, a solemn and ancient expression on his face, dusted with gold powder, flickering with a sense of reverent grandeur.

"Samurai... Black Serpent... Divine Descendant?..."

Seeing the exquisite warrior sculpture, Apprentice Dark Snake found himself unable to look away. A deep longing appeared on his face, mixed with an inexplicable sadness. He stood there, gazing at the warrior sculpture with yearning in his eyes.

"How much is this...?"

Seeing Apprentice Dark Snake’s expression, the middle-aged vendor brightened, his smile growing kinder.

"Oh! This warrior sculpture was, a century ago, the personal sculpture of the strongest warrior from the Beach Tribe, the great Black Serpent warrior! He carried it for forty years, engaged in four hundred battles. This sculpture has thus acquired the experience of four hundred battles."

"As long as you have it, you can continuously absorb the Black Serpent warrior’s battle experience, gain his courage and divinity, and ultimately become a formidable and fearless Great Warrior!... By the way, what do you have for trade?"

"I have... a gemstone."

Dark Snake pursed his lips, carefully taking out a gemstone from his pocket. This was all the wealth given to him when they landed by the old Militia. He then curiously asked.

"Is there really a Great Warrior named Black Serpent in the Beach Tribe?"

"Wow... it’s a gemstone!"

The middle-aged vendor’s eyes sparkled with sharp interest. He scrutinized Dark Snake thoroughly, smiling as he spoke.

"Of course! The Black Serpent Great Warrior is a renowned Beach Warrior, even defeating the most outstanding Eagle Warrior of the Aztecs! With this sculpture, you can be stronger than the powerful Eagle Warriors!..."

"Ah! Defeated the Eagle Warrior!"

Upon hearing this, Dark Snake’s eyes suddenly lit up, and beside him, Didi also showed a look of longing. Dark Snake extended his hand eagerly, offering the gemstone to the middle-aged vendor, pleadingly.

"Then, let’s trade!"

"Haha!"

The middle-aged vendor grinned knowingly. He weighed the quail egg-sized gemstone, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"No can do! Such a Divine Object is worth five gemstones!"

"Ah? I only have one gemstone, can you... give me a discount?"

"No way!"

No matter what the Dark Snake said, the middle-aged vendor just shook his head, very sure of his stance. However, noticing the other party really didn’t have any money, he smiled and reminded:

"Little Priest, did you come alone?"

"..."

Dark Snake pursed his lips, gritted his teeth. After a moment, he cautiously took two steps forward and tugged at the clothes of old militia Chiwaco. The old militia kept his gaze fixed on the direction of the Mayan merchants, watching their every move.

"Hmm? Dark Snake?"

"Old Chiwaco... I want that one..."

After a moment, Chiwaco, dressed as a militia, furrowed his brows looking at the gilded small stone sculpture on the ground, then glanced at the middle-aged vendor who seemed ready for battle, and asked in a deep voice:

"Just this, five gemstones?"

"...This is a Divine Object from the First Ancient City, a War God sculpture that the Black Serpent Great Warrior carried with strong Divinity!"

The middle-aged vendor, looking at the plainly-dressed old militia across him, straightened his back, ready for a big fight.

"Ha! You, selling cloth without a measure, feeling turkeys blindly, talking nonsense!"

Chiwaco stood tall, glared his eyes wide, and looked down at the middle-aged vendor sitting on the ground, scolding sternly.

"Fooling a child, what’s that skill?... What Divinity or not, all relying on your mouth. What War God or War God, you aren’t afraid of being struck by lightning!... This is just a stone sculpture, gilded with a pinch of gold powder, even a single gemstone needs to be found, and you still want to fool someone?"

"...You’re the one fooling... nonsense!... I’m sure this is a Divine Object!"

The middle-aged vendor was sweating on his forehead. Across him was someone who understood, and his voice was loud. Seeing some people gradually gathering to watch the excitement...the middle-aged vendor spoke in a low voice.

"...At most, I’ll give you one gemstone. Four gemstones, I’ll sell it to you..."

"Four gemstones? Just some sculpture picked up from somewhere, found a craftsman to gild some gold powder and carved a snake, and it could pass as a Divine Object?... Such Divine Object, four gemstones, I could make you ten!"

"Uh..."

The middle-aged vendor was drenched in sweat. Was this someone from the same trade, purposely coming to ruin the scene? He bit his lip, looked at the increasing crowd, and spoke softly.

"The Divine is in the heavens, friends are on the ground, fate won’t block all paths! Friend...don’t shout anymore, I’ll sell it to you for three gemstones!..."

The two were arguing. Tikalo smirked and immediately quickened his pace. His steps leisurely, did not seem fast, yet in a short time, he was about to disappear at the edge of the bustling area.

"Hmm?"

Chiwaco sensed something, glanced towards the bald Mayan merchant, and immediately furrowed his brows.

"No purchase! We’re leaving!"

Saying that, he was about to pull the eager-eyed Dark Snake, take the obedient Didi, and chase after the Mayan merchants.

"Hey, hey! Friend! I’ll sell it to you for two gemstones, just two gemstones!"

The middle-aged vendor stood up and chased while shouting loudly. But Chiwaco didn’t stop and quickly walked away. Seeing no hope, the middle-aged vendor angrily cursed:

"You miserly old geezer! Your son wants it so much, but you wouldn’t even spare half a sunflower seed! Ha! Being your son must be very unlucky!..."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Chiwaco suddenly stopped, lowered his gaze, paused in place. After a few moments, expressionless, he took off the copper spear from his back and walked towards the middle-aged vendor. Under the other’s vigilant yet fearful gaze, the old militia threw down two gemstones. Then, he picked up that exquisite small sculpture of the Black Serpent warrior and handed it to the expectant Dark Snake.

"It’s yours. Hold it well!"

"Ah! Thank you, papa."

Dark Snake held the sculpture, looking at the warrior’s face above it, stroking the black snake pattern, very pleased.

Then, Chiwaco bent down again, picked up a normal warrior small sculpture, and handed it to the envious Didi following behind.

"This is yours."

"Ah? This... captain, I..."

"Hold it well!"

Didi was at a loss but still stretched out both hands, holding the ordinary warrior small sculpture as if holding a treasure he had never seen before. The Chief Divine Emblem on his forehead reflected the sun’s light, seemingly bringing warmth once more.

"Hey? This... friend, you haven’t paid for this sculpture yet!"

"This one is extra!... Say one more word, and I’ll kill you!"

Chiwaco turned his head, the corners of his wrinkled eyes raised, exhibiting a rare fierce expression on his face. His gaze deep and cold, he observed the mute merchant for a while, then took the two youths yearning to become warriors and strode away.