Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 730 - 394: Assassination Attack

Chapter 730: Chapter 394: Assassination Attack

The long wind howled and the grass and trees turned yellow. Swirling red leaves blew down from the small hills around the valley, covering the large swathes of corpses below, staining them a brighter red.

The Canine Hunters’ precise shooting lasted only for a quarter of an hour, taking nearly two hundred palm samurai down. Subsequently, over a hundred of the red-haired elites charged, crushing the remaining samurai. The brief ambush burst out fiercely and ended swiftly. With roaring cries, the Guajili warriors waved their copper spears and shot out feathered arrows, chasing down the fleeing enemy.

Palm Clan Leader Zotol lay unmoving, face up in the grass. His eyes were widely open with unwillingness, his body pierced by dozens of sharp copper arrows, under him the crimson spread continuously. Death came so suddenly that it left him no time for final words. Even in death, his eyes still held surprise and confusion, as if still asking: "How did I suddenly die?" The ambush by the northern barbarians was ruthless...

"Haha, you naive deer, feigning defeat to lure the enemy and ambushing to behead, it never fails!"

Red Monkey Ozoma grinned wildly, leading hundreds of hunters as they agilely climbed down the cliffs on both sides. Behind him, thousands of Guajili warriors appeared at the top of the cliff. They howled softly and moved along the cliff edge, swarming towards the Palm samurai in the valley.

"Red Monkey, I just don’t get it, why is it always me luring the enemy? Chased like a dead dog and still having to keep enough strength to not shake them off."

Red Deer Masat gasped for air, his dissatisfaction evident. He’d lured the enemy for twenty miles, Zotol on his heels, before finally leading them to the ambushing valley.

Feigning defeat to lure the enemy might sound simple, but it’s truly a skilled task, especially when running on two feet. If the warriors lacked sufficient combat resolve, they would scatter while fleeing; without enough mobility and experience, they might take the wrong path while running. Masat not only controlled his pace during his flight but also continuously adjusted his direction, losing over a dozen elite lurers in the process.

"You naive deer, isn’t it because you have the experience and you’re fast?"

"Hmph! Red Monkey, you’d get the experience too if you lured more often."

"Masat! I am the Chief Head of the Red Monkey Battle Group, and you are the Deputy Head. According to the rules of the Southern Great Tribe, you must follow my command!"

Red Monkey Ozoma straightened his face and adjusted the new bronze sword at his waist, his words tinged with a bit of pride. After the northern campaign, he was highly regarded by His Majesty and became the head of a battle group of three thousand men, with the naive deer Masat as his deputy. Their three thousand warriors, selected from tens of thousands of Canine Descendants, were all adept fighters.

"...Fine. But since I took on the most dangerous lure, according to the rules of the Southern Great Tribe, these over two hundred head trophies are mine!"

Red Deer Masat paused, his eyes twinkling, as he revealed his calculation.

"As for the subsequent battle achievements, we divide them equally!"

"...Take them! They’re just over two hundred heads. I thought all the tribes of the southern regions were as tough as the Great Chief of the God of Death’s tribe, but they fell so easily. Now it seems, not just a few hundred, thousands would be easy too!"

Ozoma was brimming with confidence. He thought briefly before looking towards the body of Palm Clan Leader Zotol.

"That southern chieftain’s head..."

"Is also mine!"

Masat, anxious, shouted out.

"He chased me so long, I want to knock his skull off and use it as a bowl!"

Using bone utensils was a tradition among the Wilderness Tribes. However, lacking both food and wine in the wilderness, the Canine Descendants had no need for cups, only bowls. According to the Wilderness Priests, such utensils could absorb the enemy’s bravery and life, making warriors even more fierce and vigorous!

"Take it, it’s all yours. This southern chieftain was brave but not smart. Using his skull as a bowl might dumb you down. Naive deer, it’s perfect for you!"

Ozoma laughed heartily, filled with the thrill of victory.

"But these heads are now very useful. Let the warriors mount them on spears to frighten the enemy’s warriors and villages!"

"Right! The enemy, having lost its leader and spread out like a long snake, is just right for us to break in one stroke!"

Masat cracked a huge grin, evidently missing Ozoma’s hidden mockery.

As the two Wilderness chieftains chatted and laughed for a moment, the red-haired hunters had already cut off the enemy’s heads, threading them onto the sharp spears. Then, without pausing, the hunters turned and charged towards the southern entrance of the valley. There, thousands of Guajili warriors fought fiercely, having just crushed another wave of enemies.

The red leaves swirled. The three thousand men of the Red Monkey Battle Group converged from all sides, driving the defeated Palm samurai and attacking the rear. They raised Zotol, the Palm Clan Leader’s head, howled like wolves, and shot deadly volleys of arrows.

"Ow-oo!"

"Palm Clan Leader Zotol is dead!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

With their allies in disarray, their leader dead, both flanks ambushed, and relentless arrows raining down... under the Canine Descendants’ successive fierce assaults, the three thousand Palm samurai who fought outside the city could not establish their footing and were swept away by the retreating armies. The disarrayed formation broke like a collapsing mountain, with ferocious howling surrounding them on three sides, leaving only a deadly path of retreat to the south.

The fierce defeat continued for twenty li, from the ambush in the valley to the foot of Apachigan city. Along the way, the corpses of Samurai warriors were scattered everywhere, most lying face up.

Hundreds of Canine Warriors were jubilant, severing the heads of fallen warriors and searching through their belongings. Whenever they found jewelry made of jade or gold and silver, the Canine Warriors would excitedly whisper. Whenever they found accessories made of wood or stone, the Canine Warriors cursed under their breath. The tribe had just settled down but was still terribly poor, so being able to plunder a couple of valuable items would be worth a year of farming! Those Canine Warriors who found nothing could only proceed with cold faces, carrying their copper spears and longbows, continuing to pursue.

"Chase, keep chasing, don’t stop! Damn it! The seized assets, everyone gets a share!"

Red Monkey Ozoma, cursing and swearing, drove the tribal warriors along with the Masate to continue the massacre. Although ordinary tribal warriors were brave in combat and very tenacious in adversity, once they achieved victory, the temptation of spoils would cause them to forget the rules of combat. Their discipline could not yet compare with that of the Samurai Legions.

A day later, thousands of Canine Warriors finally regrouped and approached the foot of Apachigan city. After the War Priests tallied the military achievements, they piled up the heads of two thousand Samurai warriors into a spectacle within two hundred steps of the city. The morale inside Apachigan city instantly plummeted.

The Samurai Clan Leader had led three thousand men into battle, and within a few days, was utterly defeated with two thousand warriors dead, five hundred captured, and only five hundred battered warriors escaping back into the city. The rebellious southwestern nobility were panic-stricken and lived in constant fear day and night. Even though there were still six thousand militiamen and four thousand able-bodied men inside Apachigan city, they had completely lost the capability to fight outside the city after losing the well-trained Samurai.

Being trapped in a lone city was undoubtedly a path to death. The only hope was the more than ten thousand reinforcements from the "Shield" Great Chief Kimari!

Black Wolf Toltec, accompanied by hundreds of trusted aides, stopped at the foot of Apachigan city. He frowned, observing the situation on the city walls.

This southwestern stronghold was crucial in the old dynasty, a frontline military city in the Tarasco Kingdom’s campaigns against the Tekos. Apachigan was named after this city. Although the city was not large in area, its walls were nearly six meters high, even taller than those of Kulamo City. Due to the abundant rocky mountains nearby, the towering walls were constructed from a mix of different sizes of granite, volcanic rock, along with mud and corn ash mortar. Although the walls looked ugly, they were extremely solid. Over the past hundred years, the Tekos had invaded several times but had been unable to overcome this stone military city.

"No wonder Zotol dared to rebel, relying on this strong city..."

Black Wolf murmured to himself after watching for a while. He thought for a moment and then ordered five hundred red-haired hunters to shoot for cover, and five hundred Prepetcha warriors to test the attack on the city.

"Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh!"

The red-haired hunters, dressed in cotton armor, approached within eighty steps. They braved the scattered volley of arrows, exchanging fire with the archers on the city wall! Arrows whistled and crisscrossed, piercing through warriors’ bodies, and in a moment, dozens were dead!

Black Wolf frowned again. After the southwestern nobility submitted to the kingdom, they also learned the craftsmanship of longbows. At this moment, the greatbows on the city wall flickered, demonstrating formidable power. The archers could hardly move closer and suppress without suffering heavy casualties.

"Boom, Boom, Boom!"

The war drums sounded, echoing through the mountains and forests. Five hundred Prepetcha warriors, carrying great shields and crude wooden ladders, advanced toward the walls of Apachigan. Prepetcha warriors rushed within fifty steps; the bombardment of arrows from the city wall immediately shifted direction, starting to pierce through the cotton armor and kill the warriors. Within twenty steps, javelins thrown from the city walls shattered shields and struck around the ladders. Beyond that, Apachigan militiamen holding heavy boulders and clay pots filled with lime were already prepared to throw them down.

"Drip!... Drip!... Drip!..."

Prepetcha warriors, under the fierce attack and yet to close in on the city wall, suddenly heard the retreat bugle. The warriors paused for a moment, then dropped their ladders en masse and hurriedly retreated. A cheer immediately burst from the top of Apachigan city.

"Ah? Respected Black Wolf Legion Commander..."

Ozoma looked at Black Wolf Toltec.

"We’re not fighting anymore! Ezpan’s Spear Legion is about to advance westward. This broken city is so tough, let’s leave it to him to gnaw!"

Toltec’s expression remained calm as he waved his hand. Once bitten, twice shy, he would not make the foolish mistake of attacking a solid fortress ever again.

"Apachigan, a lone city, has completely lost its ability to field fight. Ozoma, leave five hundred men to guard, and let’s continue westward! Keka has been eyeing the ’Shield’ Great Tribe, and Kimari, the Great Chief’s more than ten thousand men, have already entered Apa Plain!"

"Right, Legion Commander! Let us have a good battle with these southern barbarians!"

"No, the warriors of Kimari’s Great Chief’s tribe have just come out of the mountains, brimming with high spirits. We’ll hang on with two thousand troops tethered to them, but let’s not attack just yet."

"Ah? Then, Legion Commander, where shall we attack?"

Ozoma’s face showed sudden understanding, though he still feigned confusion.

"Ha, ha!"

Toltec laughed out loud, proudly instructing.

"Ozoma, you need to learn more! Guajili warriors roam the wilderness, best at raiding! Let’s plunge into the mountains, and raid their lair!"

"Legion Commander is wise!"

"Ha, ha!"

The laughter of Black Wolf dispersed into the wind, heading southwest, transforming into solemn thunderbolts.