Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 986 - 587: The Upper Stream of the Long River, Encounter of the People in the Rain

Chapter 986: Chapter 587: The Upper Stream of the Long River, Encounter of the People in the Rain

Sparse raindrops fell from the deep sky, not too fast, not too slow, landing silently. The sparse long wind blew along the Long River, neither cold nor hot, just right. It was late summer and early autumn harvest season; in the deep mountain forest, there was no fragrance of mature grains, only the ever-blooming Huashu attracting flocks of hummingbirds and flower butterflies.

The exploration fleet stayed in Eight Hundred Town for two days before setting sail again. Camp Commander Pimeng personally led two hundred warriors and eight hundred captured able-bodied men to follow along the Tarsas River. The expedition fleet, fully loaded with the team’s food, went upstream. After traveling forty miles, they encountered the first obstacle, the first three-forked rivermouth.

"This is the eastern rivermouth."

Pimeng, leaning on a spear, stood on the rocky shoal by the river. He pointed to the upstream in the North of the rivermouth, then to the southern fork of the rivermouth.

"North of the rivermouth is the upstream flowing from the mountains. Next, we need to turn north and continue upstream. The mountains in the North are steep, the river courses steep; from here on, the able-bodied men will have to tow the boats."

Chiwaco stood on tiptoes, gazing at the layered mountains in the North, watching the eagles circling the mountain tops, his face showing amazement.

"What a vast mountain! One after another, winding endlessly!"

Then he looked southward, seeing the equally rugged mountains and narrow tributaries, and asked.

"Where does this tributary lead to?"

"I haven’t walked through it personally. Local guides say that many branches of the Atoyac River flow south into the lands of the Lowland Mistek people, and some flow southwest into the lands of the Tepanec people... In fact, the South is a vast expanse of mountain forests mixed with various wild people and villages."

"Hmm? Atoyac River? Great Water River?"

Hearing this, Puap was somewhat surprised. The name Atoyac coincided with the Atoyac Lake in the South of the kingdom, and its meaning was actually a large body of water, "Great Water River."

"Yes! The upstream of the Tarsas River is very torrential and large. So locals call it the Atoyac River."

Pimeng smiled and explained.

"The further northeast from here, the deeper into the Mistec people’s heartland you go. Sometimes, you can even encounter their tribal scouts. Warriors have fought them, captured populations, and suffered losses. But this mountainous terrain doesn’t allow for force deployment and it’s also hard to pass a large troop of warriors, so there’s no need to worry."

"I see."

Chiwaco squinted his eyes, gazing at the mountains and flying birds for a while, nodded his head.

"Chief Divine bless! Let the civilians prepare to tow, let’s set off as soon as possible!"

Soon, the chant of towing resounded beside the river and echoed between the mountains on both sides. The vast majority of the expedition’s manpower got off the ship, traveling with the Pike Warriors. During the day, the able-bodied men, bare-chested, hauled the coarse stiff hemp ropes, towing the longship slowly northward. At night, the warriors formed a circle, dispatching patrol teams, overseeing the entire party.

Thin cooking smoke rose in the silent desolate valley, bringing the aroma of food, even attracting jungle wolves. The guarding Prepecha Warriors’ eyes lit up immediately, carrying spears and greatbows, chased them. After a brief skirmish, Chiwaco’s earthen bowl received a few pieces of fragrant wolf meat that evening.

Most of the team’s food was controlled by the warriors and stored in the longship’s hold. With warriors tightly guarding the food, there was no fear of the civilians escaping. Everyone waded through the streams and trekked through the deep mountain forest, marching eighty miles northeast until they reached the second three-forked rivermouth.

"Here, the Great Water River splits into two. Northeast is the upper stream, southeast is the lower stream tributary. We need to continue to the upper stream in the northeast."

Speaking of this, Pimeng paused, his expression turned serious, gripping the spear in his hand tightly.

"We are already in the Mistec people’s territory. Moving forward, we will encounter their mountain tribes. Moreover, if we travel along the lower stream tributary, heading southeast for one hundred and fifty miles, we will reach the Mistec people’s Ye Guo City. Another hundred miles along the river is Xianggou City. There are two fertile valleys, and the gathered tribes number in the tens of thousands."

"Ye Guo City, Xianggou City?"

"Yes! Both are the heartlands where numerous Mistec Tribes gather! The Most High, Your Majesty, will sooner or later lead us to conquer these mice nestled in the mountains, one by one!"

Pimeng straightened his body, looking at the southern mountains, instinctively grasping the amulet on his chest.

"Chief Divine bless, the Kingdom is invincible!"

"To conquer the tribes in the mountains..."

Chiwaco squinted his eyes again, looking southeast. The mountains there seemed a bit more gentle, yet still undulating endlessly. And the river at his feet, though it required towing against the current, was the only smooth link.

"These hundred thousand mountains are not easy to march through. To travel smoothly, we must rely on these rivers!"

Chiwaco squinted his eyes, his thoughts wandering far. He knew the difficulty of the southern mountain roads, and couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. However, at this moment, he glanced at Pimeng’s fervent and devout expression and said nothing.

"Hey hey, yo! Keep going!"

The mountain road was tough, and towing was not easy. The team of over a thousand people wound along, covering only over twenty miles in a day. Until dusk, amid a flurry of crows, they finally stopped by the riverside.

"Here is the third forked river mouth, dividing into due east and northwest. The east is the main upstream, with abundant water. The northwest is another upstream tributary, not much water, barely navigable."

At this point, Pimeng’s vigilant expression slightly relaxed. He took a deep breath and pulled out a deerskin water pouch, drinking a few gulps.

"We will turn northwest here and won’t go east anymore. If we go further east, we might run into the Mistec people’s great tribes. A hundred miles northeast is the swamp fort in the mountains, garrisoned with thousands of Mistec militia and an uncertain number of warriors."

"Swamp fort?"

Chiwaco scratched his head, mulling over the name.

"It sounds like there should be water, and the terrain is low to form a swamp. Mountain forest swamps, undulating unevenly, this southern land is truly a vast stretch of wasteland!"

"...I don’t know why that damned Majesty has summoned us for miles to toil in these mountain gullies and streams? Ahead is where the great river sources in the mountains, dangerous and desolate, what good could it be? ...Oh, God of Destiny, I always have a bad premonition! It’s definitely, definitely not good news!..."

The old militia’s premonitions have always been miraculous. And this time, it was even miraculously over the top. Moments later, a Mistec scout with painted skin appeared on the high mountains on the east riverbank. He stared at the crowd of small dots by the river and gaped at the large ship he had never seen before. Then he raised the conch horn at his neck, puffed up his cheeks, and blew intensely with all the strength he could muster.

"Dee, dee dee! Dee dee dee!"

The sharp and piercing conch horn rang out on the high mountains, flew over the boundless clouds, crossed the southern mountain forest, and transmitted far into the distance!

"Quick! Quick! Put on armor, grab shields! Archers board the ship, prepare to shoot! Distribute stone spears to the captives, and line up on either side of the warriors! Tell them, without food, escaping in the mountain forest will mean certain death. And if they fall into the hands of the Mistec people, they will also be sacrificed by heart extraction!"

Hearing the Mistec warning horn, Camp Commander Pimeng shivered in an instant. He immediately dropped the water bag in his hand, gathered the surrounding warriors, and put on the bronze medium armor awarded by the majesty.

Soon, with the help of teammates, more than forty elite soldiers also donned copper armor, holding big axes, ready for combat at the front line. During marching, to save strength, they usually did not wear armor. The heavy and hard armor worn on their bodies transforms the warriors’ morale, a real and powerful divine blessing!

Unfortunately, there were only a total of fifty sets of copper armor in the thousand-strong long spear camp, almost all brought out.

As for the remaining 160 warriors, after distributing the simple stone spears, they drove the unarmored captives to the left and right wings. They switched to spears and longbows, overseeing the able-bodied men on the wings while guarding the central commander-in-chief.

Puap’s expression turned stern as he led a hundred warriors of the fleet onto the long ship docked at the shore. They stationed themselves between the shields on the sides of the longship, also setting up the great bows. The sight of a team moving slowly through the water was a perfect target.

Chaotic shouting rose by the river, and the captive able-bodied men with the army were a bit flustered, some trying to stir, but were suppressed by the fierce team leaders. The fear of executions more than ten days ago was still fresh in their minds. As long as the warriors’ team did not collapse, the captives would not flee for the moment.

"Dee dee dee!"

The piercing conch horn became increasingly urgent. After another half an hour, finally a large group of Mistec people marched out from the mountain forest on the opposite side of the long river. Over a thousand tribal warriors grasping stone spears, carrying javelins and hunting bows, gathered on the broad riverbank. Thirty or forty canoes, also carrying a hundred or so elite tribe members, emerged from the tributary within the forest.

These lightweight canoes, weighing only hundreds of pounds, each could carry only five or six people, similar to rafts. But with very shallow drafts, they could easily be dragged ashore. They moved swiftly in the mountains downstream and had to rely on manpower to carry them against the current.

"Rain Divine Zavi, shelter the people in the rain, drive away the tiger men from the North!"

Hundreds and thousands of tribal warriors shouted across the river, brandishing their weapons, intimidating the enemy several hundred paces away. Amidst the boiling shouts, a Mistec divine descendant, wearing a feather crown and carrying a feather bundle, also appeared on the banks of the Great Water River, holding a sharp copper spear.