Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 985 - 586: The Secret in the Song

Chapter 985: Chapter 586: The Secret in the Song

The stars gleamed in the night sky, and the bonfire illuminated the earth. In the stationed military camp, Camp Commander Pimeng gathered dozens of trusted aides to host a welcome feast for the Kingdom expedition team that came from afar.

There were large plates of black bean paste to fill the stomach, baskets of tortillas in abundance. Additionally, there were plentiful tropical fruits, delicious fish soup with added spices, and a special treat for the leaders, a whole roasted venison with an enticing aroma.

Everyone ate the tortillas heartily and drank the soup in big gulps, feeling immensely joyful. Pimeng recounted the stories of His Majesty’s invincible campaigns since the eastern expedition. Puap also boasted about the sights and experiences during the exploration of the Northern Continent. The two were spirited as they talked about half the world and drank a jar of fruit wine, becoming intoxicated and then singing the songs of their homeland.

"Oh ya, oh ya! Mother Goddess in the water, She is the mother by the lake!

Her milk drops, breeding delicious fish in the vast Lake Patzcuaro~..."

"Oh ya, oh ya! Mother Goddess in the water, She is the mother in the sky!

Wandering alone in silence, searching for her flying children until dawn~..."

"Oh ya, oh ya! Mother Goddess in the water, She is the mother of the Prepecha!

She never distinguishes, doesn’t care about the appearance of the children, wherever they are~..."

Singing up to this point, their cheerful voices echoed in the military camp. All the Prepecha Warriors sincerely raised smiles, and even the usually silent old militia also smiled on his old face. Everyone echoed loudly, singing out the songs from the memories by the lake of Patzcuaro.

"...Oh ya, oh ya! That is the light of the Mother Goddess, shining on our feet, shining on our faces. She is our mother, no matter what we are! Whether it is dripping with sweat, covered in dust, or with blood~"

The simple yet warm banquet peaked. Pimeng drunkenly stood up, waved his hand heartily, and shouted loudly.

"Bring them in, bring them all in! Two for each warrior! Four for each captain!... I, Pimeng, host, surely provide enough!"

Before he finished speaking, a group of graceful Tlaxcala noble ladies, bare-chested, were brought in by the trusted aides. The small wooden barracks were immediately filled to the brim. The swaying feminine aura rushed in, making the youthful warriors with boiling blood stare straight, instantly reacting.

Seeing this, Pimeng laughed heartily. He stretched out his big hand, made a perfect demonstration, and shouted again.

"Come, eagles of the Prepecha! Stretch out your sharp claws, seize the noble ladies of the Serpent Descendants, and sing freely on their smooth bodies!..."

"Hoo! This is going to be the end of me..."

A while later, the old militia Chiwaco struggled to crawl out of the barracks, looked at the stars in the sky, and sighed softly. He turned aside, glanced at the swaying shadows by the bonfire, listened to the passionate and hurried eagle cries, and shook his head helplessly.

"Can’t take it, really can’t take it! Better slip away early..."

The old militia slowly wandered through the bustling military camp, walked past the deathly-still market town, stepped on the watery stars, and boarded a longship for a distant journey. His gaze became profound, looking at the boundless brilliant night sky, like a lonely gazing old mountain goat.

However, in this era, there were no mountain goats. Chiwaco glanced around the bow of the ship, only seeing the young captive Dark Snake curled up in the corner of the deck. Dark Snake, wearing a sailor’s short robe, hugged his legs, raised his head, and also looked at the stars in the sky. Hmm, just like a coiled little snake lifting its head.

Chiwaco remained silent for a while, adjusted his clothes, and sat next to Dark Snake. Dark Snake tensed up, curled up a bit, until he recognized the person’s face, then relaxed a little. He could keenly sense that the old captain opposite him was someone he could trust.

"Perhaps, the only one on this entire ship he could trust..."

"Have you eaten?"

Chiwaco spoke softly, his eyes always looking at the sky. The tropical highland Milky Way was so rich that one could see thousands of star points, even more than the people on the ground.

"I have eaten."

Dark Snake answered softly. He never wanted to land ashore, nor dared to. Fortunately, the old captain tacitly allowed him to stay on the ship.

"What did you eat?"

"I ate some tortillas."

The conversation ended there. Both the old and young remained silent for a while, then Chiwaco stood up, brought out two clay jars from the cabin, filled them with fruit wine, and sat back again. By His Majesty’s instructions, the Kingdom’s expedition fleet always carried a large amount of mild wine to substitute for fresh water.

"Drink up."

"Mm."

Dark Snake sipped the wine in small gulps, quickly blushing. He turned his head slightly, cautiously peeking at Chiwaco. The latter was looking up at the starry sky, his old face slightly intoxicated, seemingly muttering something softly. Seeing this, Dark Snake leaned slightly closer to barely catch his words.

"Blind Heavenly Divine!... A deer in wolf’s skin becomes a real wolf, eating people..."

"Is this still the warrior of Lepecha?... In the old Kingdom times, the nobles were also harsh to plebeian commoners like weeds, but they were just grass-eating deer...Now, after following the Mexica, they’re no longer the same; even their core has changed, with a red gleam in their eyes..."

"Ha! I can understand their language, recognize their faces, but they always seem like fierce Mexica... This Kingdom has an increasing number of core Mexica!... All wolves."

"Being a wolf is good! This world is full of wolves. Either I eat you, or you eat me. Eating others is naturally better than being eaten!... But, I don’t want to be a wolf..."

"?... Wolf? Eat?..."

Dark Snake widened his eyes, trying hard to listen. Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand the old militia’s dialect, only sensing the emotions behind it. Mm, the feeling was like stars, high and distant, yet vast and luminous.

"Um... Do you want to hear a song?"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing this, Chiwaco was taken aback. He drank wine, face flushed, turned his head to study the young man for a while before curiously asking.

"What song?"

"The song of the stars. It’s sung by the priests of the Holy City, very beautiful, a very, very old song. I heard it when I was young, and I remember it."

Dark Snake pursed his lips, his face revealing nostalgia.

"This song is about a star, the origin star... In the Sun Calendar, a year has 365 days, that’s the cycle of the Sun’s change. In the Holy Calendar, a year has 260 days. Actually, this is also a cycle of a star. But, long, long ago, that star suddenly disappeared."

"..."

The old militia didn’t understand Dark Snake’s words either. He just observed the young man’s earnest face for a moment, smiled, and nodded.

"Well!"

Dark Snake cleared his throat, looking at the location between Mars and Jupiter in the night sky, and began to sing serenely.

"... You are the origin of all gods, floating for thirty-seven million years in the desolate and ancient Stellar Realm. ..."

Thirty-seven million years? How much is that? The old militia thought for a while, couldn’t figure it out, and didn’t care. He just quietly listened, drinking wine, with a smile.

"... The Jaguar of the Stellar Realm, treading on the footsteps of the wind. It came to the boundless river and the tree of life, sitting on the withering treetop, watching the origin star... like a seed."

In Mayan mythology, the Milky Way is a divine tree of life, with stars situated in various corners of the tree. The Jaguar of the Stellar Realm, one of the four creation gods in Mayan records, is an astronomical representation of Mars. In the poem, the location of the origin star corresponds to Mars.

Cholula City, with a heritage spanning hundreds to thousands of years, has many myths resembling those of the Mayans, originated from the ancient Olmec Era.

"A seed sprouted in the sea of stars, nurturing the gods in the sky... The Stellar Realm is a beautiful garden, where gods stroll under the tree, everything is so wonderful... until the deathly darkness came rushing from deep shadows, like lightning falling from the sky, shattering the gods’ home!"

Dark Snake sang to this point, and for some reason, tears flowed from his eyes. His face was tear-streaked, and his voice carried a sorrowful elegance.

"... Everything shattered, the divine tree toppled. The origin star fell, gods died in the darkness, the flood roared across the star river!..."

"Many years later, the survivors built tall towers. They prayed, they offered sacrifices, they waited on the earth, waiting for the return of the gods~"

Chiwaco pursed his lips, his gaze softening. He didn’t understand what the young one was singing about, comprehend the origin of stars, nor did he care about any possible astonishing secrets hidden in the poem.

"Phew! Also a child of misfortune."

The old militia sighed. He could understand the boy’s unspoken feelings; a foreign noble, perhaps even a divine descendant, who in the turbulent era among wolf packs, had lost his homeland, lost his family, lost all status and became a humble captive.

Once the song ended, the ship fell silent again, with only the sound of rushing water. The old and the young sat together, saying nothing more. They gazed at the Milky Way in the sky, thinking of someone far away, with thoughts drifting far and hearts drawn close.