Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 1069 - 652: The Second Kingdom Exploration, A New Journey_3

Chapter 1069: Chapter 652: The Second Kingdom Exploration, A New Journey_3

The small boat rowed ashore, and the group disembarked and entered the city. Then, Priest Tomate spoke to the Maya Warriors guarding the city, and someone hurriedly left. After another two quarters, several members of the Divine Descendant Nobility with divine-like faces arrived quickly, leading Priest Tomate into the palace, where he completely disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Seven longships docked by the sea, attracting much attention beyond this remote little town. Soon, a few canoes cautiously approached under the watchful eyes of the Kingdom’s Warriors. Upon getting closer and hearing the shouts from the Mayans on board, Tikalo smiled.

"Honorable Captain Chiwaco, those rowing are Maya villagers from along the coast. They wish to sell some local produce to the ships."

"What, local produce?"

"Yes! Mostly fruits, dried fruits, vegetables, and fish and shrimp. Sometimes, there are also shells, dried fish, cinnabar, and pretty stones of unknown origin."

Chiwaco frowned slightly, looking at the innocent and hopeful villagers on the small boat and then at the gentle-smiling Mayan merchant Tikalo, questioning suspiciously.

"Why would they take the initiative to approach and sell to us?"

"Because our fleet looks very wealthy. And they are pressured by the annual tribute to earn some wealth eagerly."

Tikalo caressed his divinely bald head, speaking with sentiment.

"Captain Chi, the northern Maya tribes are extremely saturated in population. All the land belongs to the Divine Descendants, the nobility and priests, and each village must pay highly exorbitant tribute. The rural people’s land is limited, and there has always been a tradition of valuing commerce. For these coastal villagers, many do not own land and simply farm for the nobility, exchanging labor for enough food to get by. Selling local produce that cannot fetch a price domestically to foreign fleets might be their only way to sustain themselves."

Seeing the skepticism persist in Chiwaco’s eyes, Tikalo smiled lightly and pointed toward the villagers’ necks.

"Look, what is carved on the amulets they wear around their necks?"

"Hmm?"

Chiwaco squinted his eyes, observing for a while from afar, surprise appearing on his face. He reached out to grab the mountain bird nearby, letting it take a closer look.

"Captain, the amulets on their necks depict a strange woman! That woman has a long rope looped around her neck, with her eyes tightly shut, and her exposed upper body is all dark..."

The mountain bird scratched its head, its eyelids twitching, feeling extremely ominous.

"It’s really eerie! It’s like a hanging woman has been drawn!"

"Indeed! This is the hanging goddess, the Goddess of Suicide Ixtab! She has a rope around her neck, indeed hung by herself. Her dark color symbolizes a rotting corpse. This goddess is one of the few Divine belonging to commoners, providing them with a direct path to the Divine Realm."

Mayan merchant Tikalo spoke in a haunting tone, revealing a harsh truth.

"In the Maya tribes, there’s only a few ways to reach the beautiful Divine Realm after death. Among them, as with the Mexica tribes, warriors who died in battle, women who died in childbirth, and sacrifices can all enter the Divine Realm directly. But aside from these, there is a primary way that is simpler and encouraged by the Divine Descendants. This method, often used by the elderly and struggling commoners, is prioritized!"

"What? You...you mean?... "

"Indeed, it is suicide!"

Tikalo smiled faintly, nodding affirmatively.

"These commoners believe in the Goddess of Suicide Ixtab and wear the goddess’s amulets. When they pass thirty, gradually losing the ability to work, they become even more impoverished. On a chosen auspicious day, they select a sacred ceiba tree. Then, they would go to the Priest of the Goddess of Suicide to borrow a divine rope, tie it to the tree branch...and end themselves, journeying to the Divine Kingdom! "

"However, sometimes on auspicious days, there are so many elderly going to the Divine Kingdom, they must share a single rope. Once the person in front just hanged, those behind must impatiently pull him down, swapping places. If unlucky and not dead enough, they would have to ask others for help to hang again..."

"Hiss!"

Hearing this, old Militia Chiwaco took several deep breaths. He turned again, looking at the suicide goddess’s amulets on those commoners’ necks, slowly revealing a look of compassion in his eyes.

"This!... Haven’t these commoners ever thought about resisting the tribute imposed on them?"

"Haha! The revered Divine Descendants rule all land, for they carry the blood of all gods and bear divine faces! These obedient commoners follow the traditional order, dwelling in the lower echelon for generations. For thousands of years, it has always been so! They have long been accustomed to considering themselves butterflies that die in spring and fall, while the Divine Descendants and the nobility are perennial ceiba trees. Butterflies only revolve around ceiba trees, dying even upon them, how could they possibly rebel?"

Tikalo shook his head with a smile. In fact, before leaving the Maya tribes for the Mexican Plateau, he also believed this reverence for the Divine Descendants and the lowly commoners, this stable hierarchy of the ruling, to be the will of the gods, and indeed the order of the world.

"Especially facing each branch of the nobility’s direct management, and the powerful family warriors, these commoners lack the ability to rebel!"

"...Ai!"

Old Militia Chiwaco remained silent for a long time, finally heaving a long sigh. He lowered his eyes, turned around, and gently waved his hand, leaving Tikalo with a piece of advice.

"Tikalo, then make the exchange! The local produce from these villagers, the fleet...also happens to need it, offer them a bit more wealth."

"At your service, Captain!"

Tikalo bowed his head respectfully, the corners of his mouth curling up once again. Then, he calmly initiated transactions with the villagers using the local Mayan language.

As the day drew to a close, the world grew dim, eventually deep into the night. Priest Tomate sent back an envoy, saying he received a warm welcome from the Divine Descendants and would spend the night in the palace, expounding on the teachings of the Chief Divine.

The seven longships remained anchored by the sea, with villagers coming and going, leaving and returning, even bringing more small boats.

Until the morning of the next day, Priest Tomate returned satisfied. Only then did the Kingdom Fleet set sail once more. The next target lay nearly three hundred li away, at Salt Village.