Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 859 - 479: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, The Sri Tribe, The Northern Sea and Sky

Chapter 859: Chapter 479: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, The Sri Tribe, The Northern Sea and Sky

"滴!滴滴!滴滴滴!..."

Samurai squad’s trumpet echoed not far from the mountains. Chiwaco stopped and listened for a few moments, his expression eased slightly. He signaled the sailors to quicken their pace. After passing through two mountain passes, the bloody battlefield suddenly appeared!

On the yellowish-brown earth, over a dozen corpses lay scattered, forming pools of bright red. At the location where the corpses were concentrated, two injured Prepetcha warriors squatted on the ground, anxiously checking something.

"Damn! It must be the Serei dogs!"

Seeing the attacked squad, Huitu Puapu roared furiously, unable to contain his anger. He searched desperately for a while and found a corpse with an arrow through its eye, the captain of the scouting team.

"Chikari!"

Puapu’s heart trembled. He let out a mournful cry, stumbling, and ran towards the fallen trusted aide.

He was demoted to the seaside, followed only by a dozen loyal subordinates, dozens of capital city warriors, and three hundred surrendered southern warriors. Since setting out to sea, he had already lost two loyal aides. Now another died here, truly piercing his heart with pain.

It must be known that these loyal aides, seasoned in battle, were the backbone of his forces, the capital for his future reinstatement! This exploration, even strictly along the coast, was still a risky venture!

"Damn... Serei dogs!"

Puapu cursed angrily, suddenly pausing. When he spoke again, he changed the name.

"Chikari..."

Seeing the gruesome state of the corpse, Chiwaco’s eyes were twitching. In Prepetcha language, "Chikari" chkari means log, somewhat similar to his name. The old militia pursed his lips, walked forward, and asked the two surviving injured warriors.

"What happened just now? Was it an attack by the Serei?"

"We encountered a tribe of Serei warriors, possibly hunters, and were ambushed by them!"

Young archer gritted his teeth and spoke venomously. In many hunting tribes, warriors and hunters were often of the same word, since archery was an essential survival skill.

"We could not understand their language at all. The captain lowered his weapon, expressing goodwill, but was shot dead by the Serei leader with an arrow! Then, the Serei charged directly... They had over a dozen men, but we had only four, yet we still defeated them!"

"Phew!... Praise the Chief Divine! You are all brave warriors! May the spirits of the deceased find peace in the Divine Kingdom... All who die exploring, I will report to Your Majesty and request generous compensation!"

Chiwaco’s expression was stern, he rarely prayed, and made a solemn promise. Then, he asked in a deep voice.

"I remember you. Your archery is quite good! Your name is... Kexi? Toad of the water?"

"Yes! Captain!"

Kexi nodded in surprise. His name was Kexi koki, which was a common name for a toad in the countryside. According to the tradition in the Celestial Empire, it was akin to names like Two Dog, and Dog Egg. In traditional beliefs, such names were chosen because petty names were easy to raise, and also to communicate with divine animals to ward off worldly spirits.

Chiwaco squatted down, only then seeing on the bloodstained ground, a middle-aged warrior still alive, but with a flushed face, motionless in a coma.

"What happened to him?..."

"The Serei shot a red arrow during the fight, it seems to be poisoned. He was hit by two arrows and soon after..."

"Red arrows?"

"Like this!"

Kexi took out a Bone Arrow, the arrowhead was dark red. Chiwaco frowned, sniffing the arrowhead carefully, detecting only a faint scent of blood.

"Shanbird, what poison is this?"

Young Shanbird stared blankly at the gruesome battlefield, his limbs trembling slightly. Chiwaco asked twice before Shanbird came to his senses. He took the Bone Arrow, examined it closely, and couldn’t decide for a while. Then, he recalled a song his mother used to sing, suddenly realizing.

"...The tribe in the desert raised poisonous scorpions and rattlesnakes. Warriors shoot out dark red arrows, like the rays of the setting sun, taking away the enemy’s light... This is an arrow of scorpions and rattlesnakes!"

"What? Scorpions and rattlesnakes?"

"Leader, the Serei tribe survives by hunting, they have few people, neither crafting skills nor exchangeable materials. Their Bone Arrow heads come from coyote teeth, arrow shafts from stems of grass and wood, feathers from seabirds. In fighting against enemy tribes, such bow and arrows find it hard to cause fatal damages. To make their arrows more deadly, larger tribes often raise scorpions and rattlesnakes. They throw weak prey into the scorpion and snake cages, let the poisonous beasts tear them apart. Then they take out the prey’s toxic liver, soak the arrowhead in the liver for several days, then dry it in the shade. The resulting poison arrow can be stored for a long time!"

"Making poison arrows..."

Chiwaco blinked, gaining more understanding of the desert hunting tribe’s dangers. Then, he asked urgently.

"Shanbird, is there an antidote for such poison? Can he still be saved?"

"Um... scorpion poison and snake poison..."

Shanbird looked into the comatose warrior’s eyes, felt his feverish face, hesitated a bit, but then answered firmly.

"This poison arrow is very fresh... He probably... can’t be saved..."

"...Ah! Blind Heavenly Divine!"

Chiwaco’s face showed sorrow. He sighed heavily.

"Dying in this barren land, thousands of miles from home... really at the end of the world..."

After sighing for a moment, he suddenly paused, realizing something, and urgently questioned.