Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 743 - 402: The Jungle of the Tribes_2

Chapter 743: Chapter 402: The Jungle of the Tribes_2

Upon hearing the news, Malina rose to her feet, turned her ear to listen, and faint sounds of shouting and killing drifted from the south.

Inside and outside of Hand Snake City, there were about four thousand tribal warriors, who in fact belonged to different clan leaders and chieftains. The chieftain and the war elder commanded the elite of sixteen hundred clans, the hunting elder had four to five hundred tribal huntsmen, while he had only a little over a hundred ordinary warriors in his hands. As for the remaining one to two thousand people, they were scattered under the control of ordinary elders and chieftains, who lived in the safest part of the city to the south.

"Send a few men to summon the guards of the chieftains from the north of the city! Tell them to abandon the defense of the north and come to the chieftain’s tent for escort as quickly as possible. Then dispatch an envoy... no, go yourself to ask Elder Topupan to come over!"

"Okay, I’ll personally go to the south of the city!"

The leader of the trusted aides nodded and was about to leave the tent.

"Wait a moment."

Malina thought for a moment and spoke in a low voice.

"If Topupan refuses to come, tell him the chieftain is gravely injured and has fled, his whereabouts unknown. He must come quickly to discuss the matter!"

The leader of the trusted aides hesitated, looking at Malina.

"Chieftain? Are we going to..."

Malina nodded, a murderous intent emerging on his face.

"Tell the chieftain’s guards that Elder Topupan has killed the chieftain and the war elder. I have lost a brother and a brother... I will chop off Topupan’s head to avenge my noble kin!"

"I understand!"

The leader of the trusted aides realized what was happening, bowed his head in respect. The chieftain still had to lead the tribe, and tonight’s sin needed someone to bear it. Elder Topupan was the perfect choice and a new threat.

"Go quickly!"

"By your command!"

The leader of the trusted aides lifted the tent flap, arranging for several envoys to go to the nearer north of the city, while he personally went to the farther south. Malina sat cross-legged in the tent, waiting once more. He suppressed an inexplicable excitement and restlessness, gazing at the dead Kimari chieftain, muttering under his breath.

"Brother, your spirit should not have flown far. I am your blood brother, between Topupan and me, you must protect me!..."

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Not long after, the whistle of bone arrows suddenly reached Malina’s ears. Then, the familiar screams rose, those of the trusted aides outside.

"What’s happening!"

Malina’s face suddenly changed. He quickly donned the chieftain’s leather armor and took up the sharp copper spear. This leather armor and copper spear had come as trade support from the Palm Family before.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Another flurry of fierce arrows rained down, with several piercing into the tent! Next came the intense shouting of hundreds, shaking the entirety of Hand Snake City.

"Malina has assassinated the chieftain! Elder Topupan is leading men to quell the turmoil!"

"Malina has assassinated the chieftain! Elder Topupan is leading men to quell the turmoil!"

Hearing the shouts, Malina turned pale. He dashed out of the tent, only to see dozens of trusted aides lying dead on the ground, the remaining ten to twenty men guarding the tent, engaged in combat with hundreds of tribal huntsmen. The burly Elder Topupan brandished a bow and arrow, with a still bleeding head hanging at his waist. Malina’s eyes widened as he took a closer look at the face, and it was indeed the leader of the trusted aides who had left not long before.

"Topupan?!... You, you despicable old wolf!..."

"Swoosh!"

A sharply whistled bone arrow, long awaiting its moment, struck Malina squarely in the throat’s vital spot. Then the bone arrow slightly paused and, with a "thwack," went right through!

"Heh heh..."

Malina struggled to stretch out a hand, pointing at a familiar figure. He "heh heh" roared, but could not utter any words.

"Whoosh!"

Moments later, another bone arrow struck, hitting Malina right in the eye. The obsidian arrowhead pierced through his eyeball and into his skull!

"Ah!"

Finally, Malina was able to speak, a shrill and piercing scream tearing through his throat. Then, he swayed and fell to the ground with a "thud," his head twisted at an angle, motionless. And his other eye, still open in reluctant defiance.

The cruel skirmish outside the tent lasted only a moment before abruptly stopping. Elder Topupan slowly stowed his longbow, a victor’s smile on his face. With calm steps, he moved beside Malina’s body, crouching down and whispering with a smile.

"Respected Elder Malina, thank you! Thank you for killing the Chieftain and the War Elder for the tribe. And I killed you to avenge them, rightfully becoming the next Chieftain..."

"...From now on, I will be a hereditary noble of the Kingdom, given fiefdoms in the Hand Snake basin! I will lead the various tribes of the Ko’alkoman mountains, swear fealty to the more venerable King, and guard the frontier, uniting the southern tribesmen to become the new Wolf King of the mountains... I will remain loyal, until the tribe is strong enough, or the Kingdom weakens! Haha!"

Topupan laughed heartily as he gently closed Malina’s eyes.

"And now, please let your severed head accompany the Chieftain, to see the sight of the Northern Kingdom for me, and also to observe the King of the North!"

Having said that, Topupan rose joyfully to his feet, looking towards the flickering fires in the north of the city, and gave his orders to his trusted aides.

"Send an envoy to stop the Chieftain’s guard coming from the south! Tell them that Malina assassinated the Chieftain and the War Elder, plotted a rebellion, betrayed the tribe, and has already been executed by me! And that the Chieftain, before dying, passed on his position to me. From tonight onwards, I am the new Chieftain, and they shall be my guard! All this can be attested by the heads of clans from the south of the city. If they disbelieve, they can also send someone to check the Great Tent!"

"As you command, Chieftain!"

"Also tell them that as long as I succeed as Chieftain, the northern Kingdom will cease hostilities with the tribes and send aid in the form of food supplies!"

"As you command, Chieftain!"

"Haha!"

Hearing the title of Chieftain, Topupan burst into hearty laughter. Looking at the slightly brightening sky, he said contentedly,

"After such a long wait, it’s finally dawn! Haha!"

As the sky began to brighten, the orderly sound of marching echoed through the mountains. The rising sun cast its rays on the outskirts of Hand Snake City, illuminating the miles of mountainous pathways, and also shining on the rapidly advancing three thousand Guajili warriors. Following the loose formation of the Canine Descendants’ battle group were even more Spear Militia. Each militia carried shiny copper spears and wore white leg bindings, marching swiftly and orderly towards Hand Snake City.

Red Frog Keka, donning leather armor, a longbow on his back, and clutching a copper spear, led the march at the front of the Canine Descendants’ battle group.

The night before, fires blazed all night long in Hand Snake City and the intense sounds of combat echoed for miles. Upon hearing this, the leader of the Second Spear Battle Group, Ezpan, immediately ordered the Red Frog battle group to march south quickly, with the Spear Battle Group closely following. According to Ezpan, negotiations in Hand Snake City had made a breakthrough, and Tekos’s inside man had initiated the promised rebellion and surrendered to the Kingdom!

At this thought, Red Frog Keka raised his head, looking ahead. The charred remnants of Hand Snake City were now in view, marked by the traces of burning. The low city walls were stained with fresh red, and the newly repaired gates were flung open.

A burly middle-aged Noble Chief stood outside the city gate with hundreds of hunters waiting. With short hair and blue-green tattoos marking his illustrious battle achievements on his face, his arms were tattooed with animal patterns and also stained with blood not yet washed away.

Seeing the approaching red-haired barbarians, the middle-aged Noble Chief smiled. The situation in the city had not yet fully stabilized, with hundreds of the War Elder’s elite refusing to acknowledge his position as Chieftain, supporting another warrior leader from the Kimari Family. Now, he needed the Northern Kingdom’s support to assert dominance over the tribes without bloodshed!

With the gates of Hand Snake City wide open and the inside still instable, Red Frog Keka also wore a smile. He looked towards the middle-aged Noble Chief and speculated in his heart.

"So, this is the victor from the Tekos civil strife? What’s his name again..."

Red Frog Keka stared at the familiar face but couldn’t recall his name. After a moment, he just shrugged indifferently.

"No matter, as long as the God of Death, the Great Chief, remembers. That’s good enough!"

With this thought, a smile on his face, he met the also-smiling middle-aged Noble Chief and gripped his copper spear tighter.

The breeze blew through the unsettled Hand Snake City and over the silent jungle outside. The Tekos people, lacking food, hunted day and night, consuming all the wild animals in the jungle.

The old hunters grew weak and mad from hunger, turning into new beasts. Then, as agreed upon, the new hunters came to the jungle with smiles, patiently waiting, armed with longbows and copper spears, to complete the final hunt!