Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 991 - 592: Below Cloud Serpent City, Conversation of the Dual Kings

Chapter 991: Chapter 592: Below Cloud Serpent City, Conversation of the Dual Kings

The wooden and stone fortress perched high upon the mountain peaks seemed as if it would merge with the heavens. The treacherous cliffs blocked any climbers, like hundred-meter-high walls bestowed by the divine. The Cloud Serpent Mountain City stood as a bastion between mountain and sky, guarding the last descendants of the Tlaxcala Divine.

At this moment, thousands of Mexica warriors clad in armor were glaring murderously upwards from the mountain’s base. The shadowy figures of the Tlaxcala warriors, on the other hand, were demonstrating atop the Cloud Serpent Outer City, raising their bows and javelins high in defiance. Warriors on both sides shouted fiercely, their voices loud enough to disturb the flocks of birds in the sky! Yet they remained separated by the terrain, halted on either end of the natural fortress, never truly clashing.

"O Chief Divine! Is this the invincible mountain stronghold, the ancestral land of the Tlaxcalans, Tepeticpac-Tlaxcala, the Cloud Serpent City?!"

Xiulote stood at the mountain’s base, his mouth agape in astonishment as he gazed up at the two to three hundred meters tall mountain city. He calculated the height of the mountain city and surveyed the narrow and rugged mountain path, letting out a difficult groan.

Only upon witnessing it firsthand did he finally understand why Montezuma II in history had laid siege to this city twice, entrenching his forces for seven long years. Only when spirits broke, and a crisis of division erupted within the alliance, did Montezuma withdraw, leaving success one step away. This failure likewise directly led to the loss of Montezuma’s authority, forcing him years later to take another path and invite hundreds of Spanish "Divine Descendants" into the Lake Capital City.

"Ah! Oh! ... The ancestors of the Tlaxcalans could truly find such a place in the boundless mountains!"

"In the hundreds of years since its construction, this Cloud Serpent Mountain City has never been conquered."

Aweit, wearing ordinary warrior leather armor, stood solemnly beside Xiulote. The two men were of similar stature, equally tall and straight, with somewhat similar facial features. Their faces were imperious, standing atop a small hill at the mountain’s base like two side-by-side divine eagles, gazing together at the "Cloud Serpent" nestled within the mountain stones.

At the same time, atop the wooden fortress of the Cloud Serpent Outer City, "Black Serpent" Teuctli stood with a longbow on his back, observing the newly emerged thousands of soldiers below the city. Even for a noble Divine Descendant, without the city and legion, one could only scrape by in the ancestral land, leading family warriors and serving as a minor squad leader defending the city.

"Huh? So many Aztec warriors in heavy armor?! ... I don’t know what craziness the Mexica King is up to. Can he still not give up? The sacred ancestral land of the Cloud Serpents is the most solid protection of the God of the Hunt, and mere mortals cannot possibly breach it!"

Black Serpent Teuctli looked at the military formations beneath his feet with a serene and indifferent demeanor. These heavily armored elite warriors were the most powerful force in the Aztec legion. To most city-states in the world, they were the embodiment of walking "fear"! However, for the Cloud Serpent Fortress towering above in the clouds, such terrifying warriors could be easily dealt with using a human-head-sized rolling stone.

From over two hundred meters up, Black Serpent looked at the minuscule enemies below, as tiny as ants on the ground. He surveyed the center guarded by the ants but did not see any magnificent banners signifying identity, nor any feather umbrellas raised high.

At this moment, the Tlaxcalans did not know that among the warrior formations below were two noble kings. They were the core of the powerful alliance, the "Divine Kings" holding together hundreds of thousands from various city-states!

If the Cloud Serpent warriors could break through the three thousand copper-armored guards and capture the two kings in their prime, the Mexica Alliance, on the verge of unifying the world, would instantly disintegrate, fragmented into numerous city-states of varying sizes; even the core Mexican Valley might not be preserved...

"Xiulote, over the past few months, I’ve dispatched scouts and interrogated prisoners; I have roughly grasped the situation of the Cloud Serpent Mountain City."

Aweit, after a long gaze, finally spoke gravely.

"The ancestral land of the Cloud Serpent Mountain City is composed of two mountain plateaus, front and back. The front mountain has an outer and inner city; the back mountain has the rear city. The mountain path before us is the only road where large groups of warriors can traverse. Going straight up, climbing two to three hundred meters, you reach the front mountain’s outer city. Although called an outer city, it is actually committed of several connected wooden fortresses and stone walls, together encircling most of the mountaintop, blocking all ascending paths. In the outer city, there are several springs and small mountain fields have been developed to support the warriors within the city."

"The Cloud Serpent Inner City is situated at the highest point between the mountains, the residence of the Cloud Serpent Divine Descendants. More crucially, it contains the most ancient Cloud Serpent Temple, rumored to be where the God of the Hunt appeared in person and blessed the ancestral land of the Tlaxcalan ancestors! All Tlaxcalan warriors, upon death, have their souls brought here by the God of the Hunt, leading them to the Divine Kingdom in the clouds... This temple, in reality, is the spiritual home of the Tlaxcalans, equivalent to the Great Temple of the Alliance!"

"The area of the front mountain plateau is relatively large, with about six thousand Tlaxcalan warriors and able-bodied men stationed there. To the northeast of the front mountain plateau is a narrow rope and wood path connecting to the back mountain plateau. The area of the back mountain plateau is slightly smaller, encircling the Cloud Serpent Rear City along its precipitous terrain. The cliffs there are even more treacherous, with only single-passenger paths and virtually no developed mountain roads. Yet the rear city contains several mountain springs and large fields, accommodating four thousand militia and women and children..."

Aweit looked into the distance, describing in detail. Xiulote listened intently, his face stern and his expression growing more serious.

"Whew! Such a precipitous mountain city would be a stone fortress city, a fishing city in the Celestial Empire, while in Japan, it’d be Inaba Mountain City, or Iwamura Mountain City... If a forceful attack is staged, the cost required might very well be beyond what the alliance can bear..."

"Xiulote, after I depart, the Cloud Serpent Mountain City is entrusted to you!"

Hearing the king’s calm words, Xiulote pursed his lips, feeling a headache coming on. He extended his palm, closing one eye and then reopening it, once again estimating the height of the Cloud Serpent Mountain City. After a long time, he lowered his eyes and let out a deep sigh, asking softly.

"Father-in-law... How much food remains in the Cloud Serpent City?"

At the words, Aweit also lowered his eyes, silent. After some time, he opened his eyes, gazing into Xiulote’s eyes, and answered calmly.

"Xiulote, I have already arranged for warriors to seal off the entire mountain range, allowing not even a single bag of salt to reach the summit... As for the Cloud Serpent City, they have enough food for at least ten thousand people for a year. Their mountain fields can support several thousand more; should the elderly and weak be abandoned, they could last even longer..."

"However, no matter what, we must take this mountain city, destroy the ancestral land of the Tlaxcalans! This is the most stubborn cornerstone of belief in all Tlaxcalan hearts and is the focus of attention from all tribes worldwide, even alliances and other states. Only by conquering this place can the four-state Tlaxcala Alliance be truly vanquished!..."

At this point, Aweit paused slightly, speaking softly.

"I know, the Kingdom Legion in the south of Tlaxcala has captured tens of thousands of young men, and has traded many captives with other city-state legions... Xiulote, if you wish to truly subdue these Tlaxcalan tribes, you must also capture this ancestral land!"

"Xiulote, my son-in-law, my student, my successor! No matter the challenges, no matter how long the siege, no matter the cost! You must capture the Cloud Serpent Mountain City, utterly annihilate the Tlaxcalan ancestral land! This is my royal decree, the indomitable wish of your ancestors, my only royal command! Destroy the Tlaxcalans, let the eternal rivals, the Cloud Serpent Divine Descendant, be completely extinguished from this world!"

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