Aztec Eternals

The sun fell quietly, and the stream flowed silently. The rolling hills are gentle, and the barren fields gradually open up. The forests of Sitacuaro melted into black shadows on the horizon, and the lake district of Patzcuaro lay not far to the north.

King Suangua walked silently, wearing ordinary warrior uniforms, with personal guards carrying the royal flag behind him. The inherited eagle flag has been rolled up and put away, and the flag bearers are only holding high the banners of the three gods. If one observes from a distance, it is difficult to distinguish the affiliation of the legion.

However, once approached, the identity of the Royal Legion cannot be concealed. The longbow and copper axe, the leather armor and copper helmet, as well as the silent march and purge military appearance are all symbols of elite warriors. Battalion commanders in great armies wear the forked plumes of nobility and brightly striped battle dress. The yellow condor and the symbols of the three gods are embroidered on the battle suit.

The 10,000 elites of Tarasco's royal family were divided into two armies, each with 5,000 men at the front and back, and the scouts stretched out dozens of miles. Su Angua personally led the copper ax guards at the front. In the past few days, under the golden sunlight, he walked through familiar mountains and rivers, and passed through unfamiliar deserted villages and towns, and he remained silent.

Suddenly there was a slight commotion in the front ranks of the march. The scouts on the periphery waved the warning flag, and hundreds of elite warriors stepped forward quickly and began to run rapidly. Suangwa stopped his army and climbed up the nearest hill. A few miles ahead, several small green dots quickly retreated backwards, while the kingdom's scouts chased and outflanked it from both sides. The two sides chased and fled until the end of sight.

The young king frowned and waited impatiently for a moment before his personal guards strode up. He carried a few bloody heads and carried a few longbows, and bowed his head respectfully.

"Dear king, the scouts encountered a team of Mexica warriors and killed them all."

Su Angua glanced at the hairstyle on his head, and then at the captured longbow, feeling agitated again. These are not warriors, but tribal people in the mountains. Even these militiamen can be equipped with longbows. The young king didn't say much, just asked aloud.

"Good job. Did the scouts detect any traces of the enemy army?"

"There is no trace of the enemy group within twenty miles, and there is no smoke and dust from the march in the sky. This team of scouts is carrying a lot of dry food, and they are unable to run while chasing. It should be that they have traveled a long way."

The king nodded and waved his guards back. He looked at the distant sky, and the capital was three hundred miles to the northwest. It would take about seven or eight days for a normal march, and five days for an urgent march.

"Encountered enemy scouts here. The capital has lost control of the surrounding area! The enemy's situation is unknown, and it is too dangerous to march quickly. No, there should be a large number of enemy troops, so it is not appropriate to entangle them at this time!"

Su Angua thought for a moment and made a quick decision.

"Come on! Send the order, the scouts of the former army will disperse, the army will keep quiet, and turn to the southwest. Then send two hundred-man squads to wander in the northeast to attack the Mexica scouts as suspects!"

Accompanied by the king's military order, tens of thousands of elites quickly changed their formation and turned to the hills and valleys in the southwest. The last elite of Tarasco continued to the heart of the kingdom, waiting for the doomed battle.

The wilderness of the mountain forest was quiet again, and the low-hanging vegetation covered the traces of fighting. It wasn't until a day later that a few Mexica scouting teams arrived in a hurry. They dispersed, scoured the woods for blood and corpses, and gathered again. The captains looked solemn, discussed in a low voice for a while, and quickly divided into three groups. All the way to find people's shadows to the northeast, all the way to the southwest along the footprints, and all the way to travel day and night, and return quickly.

The sun rose and the sun set, and it was another two days in a blink of an eye. The high sun illuminates the land, and a shallow stream flows through the valley. Toltek sat on a boulder by the stream with his legs upright, frowning like a big dog in thought. Beside him is a longbow and stick, and in front of him is a row of bamboo baskets, which are full of fresh and slender pepper grass.

This is a temporary riverside camp, more than 150 miles away from Qincongcan in the west, and a little over 100 miles away from Patzcuaro City in the southwest. Thousands of longbow militiamen patrolled the periphery in units of hundreds of people. There are also hundreds of tribal hunters busy in the fields, gathering fresh grass. Soon, a tribal leader came forward with a bamboo basket on his back, and respectfully handed over the collected harvest to the brave and 'knowledgeable' leader of the black wolf.

Toltek stretched out his hand, grabbed a handful of peppercorns, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed. The fresh and tender stems and leaves exude a unique spicy aroma, and the refreshing spicy taste spreads in the mouth, which is fresh and slightly bitter. Toltek chewed for a while, then nodded expressionlessly, waved his hand to let the leader back down, then grabbed a handful of "snacks" and chewed slowly to refresh himself.

The army camped temporarily, and the collection of peppercorns was of course not for eating. This kind of pepper grass is actually Achyranthes chrysanthemum, which is an excellent hot pot vegetable in later generations, and it is the most easily available hemostatic medicine at this time. Its stems and leaves can stop bleeding and reduce inflammation. It can be applied externally to wounds on the body surface or taken internally to relieve inflammation in the body.

Toltek waited patiently while chewing on the snack. During the looting not long ago, he smelled the change in the situation, so he made a decisive decision, led the militiamen for more than a hundred miles, and sent dozens of reconnaissance teams to search and extend to the southeast of Sitacuaro.

"The congratulatory envoy should have met His Highness and conveyed my suggestion. What is Your Highness's reply? Faced with the threat of food shortage, what are the main forces of Tarasco in the southeast doing? If we can catch the enemy's The king, I, Toltek, will be the first person in the Western Expedition! At that time, what a sight it will be!"

Toltec was imagining the future. A scouting party emerges from the end of the field. Their battle clothes were covered in blood, their heads were dusty, and they ran for two consecutive days, bringing back an important piece of news!

"What! A reconnaissance team went missing. Later, you found traces of the movement of a large group of enemy troops? But you are not sure of the specific direction? You were also attacked by an enemy team!"

The scout captain nodded again and again. Toltek asked for a long time before letting the other party go down to rest.

The black wolf of Mexica thought and thought. Although the scouts did not observe the enemy's flag, nor did they know the number of the enemy. But his intuition told him that if he could deal with the scouts so cleanly and march quickly without leaving too many traces, he must be an extremely powerful opponent. And at this moment, there is only one such army left in Tarasco, the King's Legion!

"The key now, one is to expand the search, and the other is to pass the news to His Highness in time!"

Thinking of this, Toltek finally made up his mind. He stood up and quickly summoned his personal guards and heads of ministries.

"Use fifty people as a unit and divide into dozens of teams. Expand your search to the east, northeast, south, and southwest! Once you confirm the enemy's group, quickly retreat to the old camp tens of miles away from Patzcuaro City and report back. Don't love to fight. The first person to report the news will be promoted to a senior warrior. He will be rewarded with a hundred baskets of grain, a hundred pieces of cotton cloth, and a hundred slaves! I will personally report his name to His Highness!"

Hearing the high reward, the eyes of the heads of various ministries flickered. Like wolfhounds smelling their prey, they looked at each other vigilantly and howled in low excitement.

Then, Toltek waved his hands vigorously without further delay.

"The other 100 personal guards, follow me and return to the old camp immediately!"

"Hei Lang" strode away, finally grabbed a handful of peppercorns, and chewed hard in his mouth. The spicy taste lifted his spirits, and the desire to fight made his blood boil. Immediately, he took the lead and ran at a constant speed, followed by his personal guards. The hunters in the valley scattered away one by one. There is only a row of bamboo baskets by the stream, full of spicy fresh grass.

Toltek ran continuously for half a day. It wasn't until night fell that he stopped to have dinner, found a high ground, and took a rest with his bodyguard. When it was just dawn, he urged the march again sharply, and ran ahead first. By noon the next day, the old camp was finally in sight. Marching a hundred miles a day has almost reached the limit of this era.

Arriving at the old camp in the forest, Toltek paused for a moment. At some point, there were many more guarding warriors in the camp. The patrolling squad is neat and strict, with the chill unique to the elite. "Black Wolf" waited and watched for a while, and finally strode forward with a happy expression on his face. He lowered his head and saluted respectfully to His Royal Highness's warrior commander,

"Master Holy Eagle, your injury is finally healed? I have been worried about you for a long time! Well, you look rosy and energetic, and you should be well taken care of by the head of the navy."

Hearing this, Bertard was slightly embarrassed. Then, a smile appeared on his vicissitudes of life.

"Anna is a good woman with a cold face and a warm heart. I am completely healed. After lying down for several months, I can finally return to the battlefield and catch up with the end of this Western Expedition! If you don't work harder, all the credit will be lost. You guys are finished. Toltek, I heard that you captured Ospei alive, and you have avenged me!"

Bertard reached out and patted Toltek on the shoulder vigorously.

Toltek came from the team of followers of His Highness, he was a young general who was trained by him and pulled out with one hand. The other party was young, and he was able to be in charge of recruiting tribe hunters before going out because of his recommendation. The relationship between the two is very close, and both can be counted as followers of His Highness.

Hearing this, Toltek was in high spirits, and said loudly with a smile.

"Captain Holy Eagle Warrior, Ospai is just a gutless rat fish, and he can't even kill himself. Now, I, Toltek, have found a real big fish, which may be the king of Tarasco! Your Highness now Is it in the tent?"

"Big Fish King" Bertard pondered for a while, then nodded seriously.

"His Royal Highness is dealing with military affairs in the big tent. Military affairs are the most important thing, so you and I will meet His Highness!"

When it came to business, the two stopped talking. After a while, they walked together to His Highness's big tent.

Shulot was wearing a black robe, holding a roll of simple maps, and had a close discussion with Ezpan who was standing in wait. Hearing the movement at the tent door, the young commander looked up.

Berthard entered first, bowing his head and saluting.

"Your Highness, Toltek has an urgent military report."

Shulot nodded with a smile.

"Let my black wolf in!"

"Your Highness, Black Wolf Toltek greets you and congratulates you on your victory in the Great Northern War! I also bring you new good news!"

Toltek stepped into the tent. He raised eyebrows, knelt down on one knee, and greeted loudly.

Shulot looked at Ai Jiang with a smile.

"Toltek, what good news do you bring?"

"Your Highness, I found the trace of King Tarasco!"

"What!" Shulot suddenly stood up. With a solemn expression, he stared at the young general.

"When and where? What is the specific situation? Tell me all in detail!"

Facing His Highness's gaze, Toltek shrank his neck and carefully explained the information he knew.

Shulot pondered for a moment before opening his mouth slowly.

"So, the scout didn't see the enemy's legion with his own eyes?"

"Your Highness, in Qincongcan East, the only ones who can march in large groups without leaving too many traces are King Tarasco's army!"

Toltek went on to explain.

"The scouts I sent are all experienced old hunters! Only the enemy's king army can make them disappear silently."

Xiulot nodded and said nothing. He thought for a while, then looked at Ezpan beside him carefully.

"If Tarasco's king's army is in our east, where can they hide?"

Ezpan thought for a moment, borrowed the map in His Highness's hand, and made gestures on the map one by one.

"Your Highness, there are many places in the east where you can hide your whereabouts. The first is the forest border of Sitacuaro. Secondly, to the north, on the south side of Sitacuaro, there are also many rolling hills and scattered fortresses. But these places , without sufficient food supplies, and it will be difficult to avoid our scouts when we continue to march to the hinterland."

Shulot nodded slightly. Then, he continued to ask.

"If the enemy is in the south, where can they go?"

"Your Highness, the southern hinterland of Tarasco is still intact. The nearest is the southernmost part of the Patzcuaro Lake District, the city of Ivacio, which is rich in copper mines. It is rich and prosperous there, as long as you search for big merchants, you can get a lot of money. Supplies. Then there is the river valley on the north bank of the Talsas River, where there are many manors of great nobles. Between the Patzcuaro Lake District and the Talsas River, there are also many marching passages with water sources. If the king’s army comes from here If you pass by, you can avoid our detection, detour to the south or even the southwest, and enter the Patzcuaro Lake area!"

The young commander-in-chief gave a "hmm" and agreed. Then, he frowned, stared at the corner of the map, and fell silent.

"Your Highness, you have brought the main force of the legion south, and no one can resist at this time!"

Toltek looked excited. He pointed to the center of the lake area, Chin Tsung Can City.

"Let us directly encircle Qin Congcan, wait for the enemy's king army to come, and then defeat them in one fell swoop! I, Toltek, would like to be your forward! As long as the enemy king is captured, the Tarasco people will disperse The various ministries are fighting independently and are not subordinate to each other. The victory of the Western Expedition will inevitably follow. You will become the greatest commander in the history of the alliance!"

Shulot nodded with a smile, then shook his head again.

"Toltek, I'm not worried that Suangua will escape into the capital. Although Qin Congcan is strong, it is a caged city. If he enters the capital, King Tarasco will be a bird in a cage, and he will never be able to escape again. .”

Then, he stretched out his hand and pressed hard on the corner of the map.

"What worries me is that Su Angua retreats here!"