Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 865 - 484: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, The End of Northern Voyage!

Chapter 865: Chapter 484: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, The End of Northern Voyage!

The sky in March was clear, like the coastal waters, revealing a distant light blue and an infinite depth. The bright daylight fell, and the vast wilderness was intertwined with gray and dark brown. The narrow stretch of land between the sea suddenly widened here and extended to the east and west, turning into an endless desert. Some verdant mountains rose sporadically in the North, stretching deep into the desert, becoming brown at the horizon’s end!

Chiwaco stood on the coastal dunes, staring blankly at the vast world he had never seen before. He never thought that the North of this world could be so grand! The fleet had been at sea for several months and finally reached the end of the ocean, this endless northern continent!

"Priest Mekate, at what latitude are we now?"

"Captain, we are between 31 and 32 degrees North, having sailed 13-14 degrees from the Tarsas River estuary at 18 degrees North!"

Mekate opened his eyes wide, looking towards the northern wilderness and the mountains at the horizon’s end. He couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Chief Divine! We have traveled nearly five thousand li to the northwest for four months! And according to the Sri people’s songs, this vast northern continent might extend another five thousand li!"

"Bless the Chief Divine! Such a vast land! If we can explore it, it would be a tremendous achievement!"

Puap, emotionally agitated, tightly grasped the Sun Amulet around his neck and murmured a trembling prayer.

"Chief Divine, Ancestors!... The northern tribes are so savage yet possess such an immense continent! If the Kingdom were to move north... perhaps I, Huitu Puap, could become a king of a state in this distant northern land!"

"Five thousand li along the coast, five thousand li inland... The world’s north, could it be ten thousand li?"

Chiwaco murmured to himself. He couldn’t imagine how vast a distance ten thousand li really was. Just rowing might take seven or eight months... According to Pikam, how far does this endless northern continent extend? What sights await at the ends of the mountains and sea? What kind of tribes live on this boundless land?...

He pondered for a long time, with a hidden yearning, a curiosity for exploration, and an inexplicable fear beyond comprehension. After a while, he let out a long sigh and muttered lowly.

"Ah! Damn Heavenly Divine, how did you create such a vast land with your eyes closed?... If that blind Your Majesty knew... the rest of my life... I’m afraid will be restless!"

Puap looked up, squinting at the intense sunlight overhead. It was mid-March, and it had been over ten days since the battle on Bird Mountain Island.

That night, the old man and the captured Chieftain, Lobster Pikam, swore blood oaths, making mutual promises. Afterwards, Pikam told them all he knew about the northern land.

The Sri people occupied the Sonora Desert along the coast, with footprints in all directions. In the mountains to their immediate east, the Opata People had established their city-state and occupied Copper Mountain. To their northeast, the vast basin and plains were home to the nomadic and fierce Apache Alliance.

To the true north of the various Sri tribes, even more savage and linguistically different desert people, the Tohono-O’odham, dwelt. These desert people roamed the northern desert, similar to the Sri but unable to fish, with fewer numbers and more aggressive nature. They occasionally ventured south to capture food and women from the northern Sri tribes.

Pikam said the desert people were even poorer than the Sri, not even possessing feathered hats! At the moment, the fleet had landed near the border between the desert people and the Sri.

To the northwest of the Sri was the land of legend, according to their songs—a place with bays, fertile lands, rivers, and mountains. The furthest the Sri had ventured to the northwest was to a large salt lake about five hundred li from here.

"The ancestors said the lake water there is salty, but two great rivers from the north flow with non-salty water. Crops can be cultivated by the rivers, yielding abundant food each year. The surroundings of the salt lake are unsuitable for planting, but there are many wetlands, plants, and game, thus sustaining numerous tribes! I recall a song of the owl, speaking of the northwest legend! At night, the owl awakens, famished. It dives from the low treetops, capturing wild rabbits and lake fish, feasting heartily..."

Speaking of the salt lake, Pikam’s eyes gleamed. All the Sri tribes knew of its wealth. Naturally, such a rich place was occupied by powerful tribes.

"The Kumeyaay occupy the salt lake and the northwestern mountains! They regard the salt lake as their ancestral land, with legends of its lake spirits, forbidding migration to the lake shores. They are plentiful in number, skilled in archery and running, dwelling in houses built of branches and stone-mud, a powerful northern tribe! They also fish using reed rafts and occasionally visit the bay. Oh, they have very sharp stone weapons, resembling your daggers!... Further northwest are the Hokan-speaking Chumash!"

"The rich salt lake, obsidian weapons? The Kumeyaay of the northwest, the Chumash further northwest?"

At the mention of these strange tribe names, Puap felt dizzy. With the fleet’s exploration, the messages of countless tribes emerged like stars in the sky, one after another, from the boundless continent.

"Hmph! They are all just small tribes of tens of thousands! If Your Majesty gives me a legion, I will trample them all, conquering them all!"

Puap gazed at the northern horizon, filled with desire, greed, and confidence.

However, he seemed never to have considered that if war broke out, how the Kingdom could support a legion in the desolate northern land thousands of li away with supplies. And if these tribes fled into the continuous mountains or hid in the vast deserts, how would they deal with it?

The old militiaman Chiwaco hadn’t thought about these things much. He harbored no greed, only awe for the vast land and a commitment to his duty. Remembering the experiences of the past ten days, he recalled asking Pikam before letting him go.

"Lobster, my friend! Are these gray-white stones on the island made of condensed guano? Can they fertilize the fields?"

"Uh, friend, what do you mean by fertilizing the fields?"

"It means making plants grow lushly."

"Haha! Friend, look at this Great Island, full of gray-white stones, yet hardly any greenery. Though built with guano, how could they ever make plants grow lushly? The tribe tried planting on the island but nothing could grow! The priests said there is the spirit of the spirit whale’s divine power here, killing off non-native life!"

"...What about the other islands to the west?"

"All the same! The islands inhabited by colonies of birds have no rain, only a bleak, gray-white or earthy brown!"

Chiwaco, deep in thought, nodded heavily. Then, following the agreement, he escorted Chieftain Pikam to the eastern continent’s coast with a bag of corn cakes. The Sri warriors of Bird Mountain Island kept careful watch, and any landing attempt would surely have triggered a needless battle and casualties.

"Friend, I follow my oath to return you to your tribe! We will leave your homeland and never land again! The Lake Tribe, the Konkaklik, are friends!"

"Good! I too will abide by my oath and inform the chieftains of the tribes of all that has happened! As long as you leave our homeland, you will be friends of the Lobster Tribe! As for other tribes, I will do my best to persuade them!"

Pikam gripped his wounded right hand and made a solemn promise. With heavy hearts, the two pressed their foreheads together again. Then, Pikam, with the bag on his back, went south alone towards Bird Mountain Island where his tribe gathered.

Meanwhile, Chiwaco led the fleet to continue north to the bay’s end. Huitu Puap wanted to land in the northern lands to return and claim merit before Your Majesty. As for the old militiaman himself...

"After being at sea for so long, let’s reach the ocean’s end for a look!... Such a long journey, I likely won’t have another chance in this lifetime..."

So the fleet left the vicinity of Bird Mountain Island, spent two days finding the largest island of birds in the northwest, and dug some grayish yellow guano rocks. This island, slightly elongated, lay near a narrow western peninsula. The island had low hills, was even more arid, with no greenery or rivers to be seen. The island’s size was similar to Bird Mountain Island.

Looking at the countless sea birds on the island, Chiwaco thought for a moment and then gave it a new name.

"Snakebird Island!"

Since when the fleet landed, they encountered several pythons at the island’s edge. With birds in the sky and snakes on the ground, it was aptly named "Snakebird Island". (Now Ángel de la Guardia Island, Baja California, Mexico)

Then, the fleet departed from Snakebird Island, sailing north again and finally reaching the end of the bay after traveling nearly 700 li over eight to nine days.

At the bay’s end, they encountered a skirmish between a small group of desert people and Sri. Both sides had seven to eight men, thrusting short stone spears and shooting wolf-tooth short arrows, fighting fiercely by the river, with blood flowing! Their deadly battle was only over two wild deer that had fallen from arrows and bled out.

Seeing the massive oar-sail ship, both the desert people and Sri were stunned, staring at the shore in astonishment. They felt awe and fear at the sight of the massive ship they had never seen before!

Standing at the bow, Puap shot the desert chieftain dead with an arrow from a distance. The desert people, almost naked and covered in strange patterns, fled in a panic to the northern desert. The Sri did not pursue them but watched the ship warily. The feathered chieftain said a few words softly, then one man lowered his weapon, placed the dead, arrow-struck deer before the kingdom’s fleet, and kept a smaller deer for themselves.

Chiwaco, with the warriors, went ashore and climbed the dunes. He didn’t take the Sri’s hunted deer but had a Bird Mountain translator inquire about their location.

The Sri chieftain, though vigilant, did not withhold information. News of what happened in their southern homeland, nearly 700 li away, had not reached here. He responded affirmatively.

"Strangers, this is the bay’s end, the edge of the northern desert! Further north lies the vast, boundless northern continent!"

Upon hearing this, the entire fleet cheered. The captain had promised that upon reaching the ocean’s end, they would return.

"Praise the Chief Divine! We have reached the ocean’s end! We have arrived at the northern continent’s border! And here is the furthest we have sailed!..."