Nesa Hualcoyotel's smile made Tesosomok a little scared. He let his entourage help him back to the chair, leaning his chin and lost in thought.
Nezahualcoyotl only sent two slaves, and the local prisoners of war did not respond. This was enough to eliminate the suspicion that Nezahualcoyotel led the rebellion. But his presence here was definitely an anomaly, not to mention that he appeared on the island on the day the invitation was sent. This seems to indicate that he was hanging around Tessosomoc before he landed on the island. But this island is Tesosomoc's sphere of influence. If he is not here to plan a rebellion, then what is he here to do?
After much deliberation, Tesosomoc could only come up with one possibility - Nesa Hualcoyotel was afraid that he would achieve extraordinary results on the other side of the sea, so he took precautions on this only way to travel.
Nezahualcoyotl was a smart man and knew how much impact Quetzalcoatl would have on the distribution of power in the Aztlan Empire after he brought him back. Judging from the current situation, he seems to be more willing to stand on the side of the Sun King. In this case, his purpose is to interfere with this ceremony aimed at promoting Quetzalcoatl to the throne. .
Thinking of this, Tesosomok snorted coldly, waved his hand to summon his attendants, and whispered: "Let the two people I assigned work harder and not fail. I will reward you heavily when the job is accomplished."
In the square, the slaves, knowing that playing was inevitable, had gathered and began to think hard about strategies to win the game. Although Tesosomoc's team was well prepared, but it was a matter of life and death, they still gathered seriously on the other side of the square and whispered to the two slaves sent by Nesa Hualcoyotel about the next battle. plan.
Tesosomok's entourage came to the field, beckoned the two warriors Tesosomok had placed in the team, whispered a few words, and then sneaked back to Tesosomok's side and said:
"They told Tratoani, don't worry," the attendant said, "the players on the opposite side are just a bunch of people."
Tesosomok nodded - they would only be sincerely grateful if they were pardoned before they died. If the loser is your own team, the effect will be greatly reduced.
"But having said that, second brother, how are you going to stop me?" Tesosomok glanced at Nesa Hualcoyotel in the audience, "Anyone who can stand out as Tratoani is not stupid, any god It’s more beneficial to them, they will be able to tell the difference on their own, and it’s not something you can seduce with your sweet words.”
The referee threw the rubber ball upwards, and with a bone-numbing whistle, the game began.
Masitra in the stands asked in a low voice: "Tineke, what do you think our team's winning rate is?"
"At most 50%."
"That high?"
"If the winning rate is 100%, our team will be at most 50%," Teaneck said. "I think my slave has never even touched the ball."
Before he finished speaking, the scalp-numbing whistle sounded again. A slave sat on the ground, holding his ankles and wailing. Just now, he tried to kick the rapidly falling rubber ball forward with the instep of his feet, but the weight of the solid rubber ball was beyond his expectation. With the speed of the fall, his ankle was injured by the falling rubber ball.
"Look, this is the one." Teaneck sighed, "What a pity, he is very good at arithmetic and his handwriting is beautiful."
"The ball touches the ground twice in a row." The referee announced, "The opponent scores."
The injured slave could no longer walk normally, but no one paid him any attention. Before he even had time to step aside, the two warriors arranged by Tesosomok had already dribbled the ball and launched an attack. They were familiar with the weight of the ball and did not use the instep of their feet. Instead, they used solid parts such as shoulders, thighs, hips, and chest to hit the ball. Under their control, the ball suddenly jumped to the warrior's body and then to the ground. The warrior's body was like a light kechar bird flying in the air, making people feel no weight at all. The rest of the team members firmly guarded the opponent's players and prevented them from interfering with the dribbling of the two main players. With such close cooperation, the ball only touched the ground intermittently three times before being brought into the opponent's backcourt.
The whistle sounded. The referee declared expressionlessly: "Score."
The makeshift team of slaves began to gather together to discuss strategies.
"You have to keep an eye on those two great guys. Also, learn how to hit the ball the way they do!"
As the game started again, a slave tentatively bumped the falling ball with his shoulder. As a result, the ball immediately flew out crookedly and touched the ground once. His teammates rushed forward and finally kicked the ball back before it touched the ground for the second time. However, perhaps because they were too excited and used too much force, the ball not only went in an absurd direction, but also flew out of the way. Far away, he touched the ground again in full view of everyone, and a second time before anyone came over.
"Two touchdowns in a row." The referee blew the whistle, "The opponent scores."
The atmosphere at the venue suddenly fell to a low point. Tsosomok was relieved - although the players he selected from the prisoners of war were not very good at football, they had at least been trained in advance. It's impossible to lose when you encounter this kind of novice team that can't even move the ball.
The slave who injured his foot was still wailing on the ground and unable to participate in the game. With the dual advantages of numbers and technology, Tesosomok's team scored points like crazy, while the opposite team's morale had dropped to the bottom, wandering around the venue like a zombie.
"It's time to prepare the steamed buns." Tesosomok ordered the followers around him, "Also, bring up the prisoner of war who participated in the opening ceremony and show it to everyone."
Corn flour buns filled with livestock meat will be sacrificed to the gods as a substitute for the loser. As for the prisoner of war in the opening ceremony, his heart was not actually dug out at all. Tesosomoc deliberately asked the priest in charge to use his robe to block the audience's view, and the heart placed on the altar was actually made of an animal.
——All of this is the preparation carefully designed by Tesosomok for the final moment of revelation.
However, at this moment, the entire venue suddenly burst into exclamations!
Tesosomok looked back and was surprised to see the slave who had injured his foot at the beginning dribbling on the court in full swing. The score displayed on the court was fifty-six to zero. Just when both teams were slacking off, the slave suddenly stood up and launched an attack.
He dribbled alone and dodged several opposing players who came up to block him. His movements were so skillful that he didn't look like a novice who injured his ankle by the ball.
"The hoop!" Everyone in the stadium exclaimed, "His goal is the hoop!"
Kicking the ball into an iron ring suspended on a six-meter-high wall and almost as big as the ball is a way to directly end the game regardless of the score. Tesosomoc has never been attempted due to its extreme difficulty and the price of failure.
But this is also the only possibility to turn defeat into victory.
Even the slave's owner, Tinaike, opened his mouth in shock:
"I remembered. He seemed to have said that his hometown was in Texcoco...the city-state ruled by Nezahualcyotel."
Amid everyone's surprised cries, the ball shot into the hoop without any bias.
