Three thousand Imperial Guards guarded Black Wolf's royal flag and stayed in Kanhe Village for more than half a month. The kingdom's envoys traveled nearly four hundred miles westward along the mountain trails and arrived at Fire River City, where they conveyed the king's will.
Ezpan also cooperated in Yeshan Village and sent more than two hundred red-haired scouts to spy on the Fire River Plain. The tribes in western Colima immediately became nervous. More than 5,000 tribal warriors who had already been mobilized set out from Huohe City and headed to the mountain pass on the eastern boundary of the Fire River Plain to further strengthen the defense of the village.
In Fire River City, many Tekos noble chiefs argued fiercely for several days. In the end, it was Imar, the chief of Colima, who convinced all the ministries and made the decision to surrender to the powerful northern kingdom.
"Your Majesty, Ezpan of the Kingdom of the Lake, greets you! Praise you, I am your loyal servant, you are my supreme sun!"
In front of Kanhe Village, Ezpan, wearing a gorgeous legion commander's uniform, fell down excitedly in front of Shulot, not caring that he was covered in dust and mud. Even though he is already a distinguished legion commander, he is still as loyal as the king's servant.
"God bless you! Your Majesty, the expedition in the southwestern mountainous area is going well!"
"God bless you! Ezpan, my legion commander, you and Coca fought well!"
Seeing this scene, Shulot nodded with satisfaction. He stretched out his hand, smiled and helped the other person up from the mud.
"I heard that you came with the envoy from Fire River City?"
"Exactly, Your Majesty!"
Ezpin stood up, responded respectfully, and replied carefully.
"The tribes of Colima in the west, in awe of your supreme reputation, request further surrender to the kingdom! Not only did they agree to hand over twenty thousand people's grain for a year as last year's tribute, they were also willing to pay the same share of grain every year , as annual tribute, in exchange for your blessing!"
"Oh? A year's worth of food for 20,000 people as annual tribute?"
Hearing this, Shulot looked surprised. He pondered for a moment and asked.
"Do the tribes of Colima have any other requests?"
"Yes! Your Majesty, the tribes of Colima are requesting the kingdom to send priests of the Lord God to preach in Fire River City! They are willing to give up their belief in the three gods and submit to the Supreme Lord God!"
"Give up your belief in the three gods and submit to the supreme god?"
Shulot looked moved and thoughtful.
The tribes of Tekos originally believed in polytheism and believed that mountains, rivers, vegetation and trees each had their own gods. And according to the differences in the ancestral areas of these tribes, they have different preferences. Fire River City is located at the foot of the volcano and worships the god of fire. Hand Snake City is located in the mountains and forests and respects the snake god. Ama Castle is located on the seaside and worships the water god.
In the past half century, after the rise of the Kingdom of Tarasco, it began to continuously attack the Nantecos tribes and spread the belief of the three gods. After the tribes surrendered one after another, they respected the three gods. And when the Kingdom of Tarasco fell and the Kingdom of the Lake rose, the belief in the Lord God also followed.
Now, facing the pressure from the Northern Kingdom, the tribes of Colima once again made a choice. Whether or not the conversion was false, the conversion itself was a sign of great deference to the kingdom.
"very good!"
Shulot nodded slowly. How should the kingdom deal with the submissive tribes of Colima? As he thought about this issue, his attitude gradually changed subtly. After a while, he asked again.
"Any more?"
"Also! Your Majesty, Colima Chief Yimar requested that his youngest daughter Elaine go to the kingdom and serve you! The envoy coming with me from Fire River City this time is the sixteen-year-old chieftain. Girl, your noble daughter Elaine.”
"Send your daughter to serve with you?"
Shulot lowered his eyes slightly and fell into thinking. The meaning of personal service is to establish a substantial marriage relationship without pursuing any status. Chief Colima's move was obviously to further express his surrender and strengthen his relationship with the Northern Kingdom. After a while, the king looked at the warrior commander.
"I remember that King Suangua of Tarasco also married the daughter of Chief Colima and had children?"
"Yes, Your Highness. Chief Colima has many children and has marriages with various tribes. When the city of Qincongcan was destroyed, Suangwa's wives and concubines were executed by Chief Hummingbird. The daughter of Chief Colima left behind a My son is one of the captured princes of Tarasco, Sartini. However, all of these princes should have been sacrificed to the main god during the alliance’s victory ceremony.”
Shulot nodded. He looked back at Ezpin.
"Ezpan, during your expedition to the southwestern mountainous area, did you collect information on Imar, the chief of Colima? How old is he and what is his evaluation?"
"Imar, the chieftain of Colima..."
Ezpin thought carefully for a moment and answered carefully.
"Your Majesty, Chief Ymar is nearly fifty years old. He is tall and strong and is a rare long-lived chief. According to the legend of the Tekos people, his mother was favored by the God of Fire and was given the blood of the god, thus giving birth to a child with the god of fire. He is full of blood. As a descendant of God, he has always been protected by the God of Fire. He often bathes in volcanic hot springs and prays. He has fathered dozens of children..."
Hearing this, Shulot's eyes moved slightly. Being able to be initially deified by the Tekos people in the mountains proves that Imar is a very powerful chief.
"Imar has been the chief for more than twenty years. He has an outstanding reputation among the tribes and has deep control over the tribes in the Fire River Plain. In the early years, he led the tribes of Colima to resist the invasion of the old Tarasco dynasty. Relying on the terrain in the mountains, he defeated the Tarasco Army several times and became the leader of the Western Tecos Alliance. Finally, under his leadership, the Colima tribes nominally surrendered to the old Tarasco dynasty, but in fact He maintained his autonomy and independence. After the fall of the old dynasty, he sent an envoy to the kingdom to express his surrender to you."
"Well, at the first New Year's Festival after the establishment of the kingdom, there were envoys from the tribes of Colima."
Shulot was indeed impressed. Although before the Southern Expedition, the tributes from various tribes in Colima were only symbolic gifts, but the etiquette was sufficient... Chief Ymar in Fire River City is probably not an easy person. Thinking of this, the king frowned.
"Ezpan, how is the defense of Fire River City?"
"Your Majesty, according to the intelligence from the scouts, the area of Fire River City is not large. The city wall is more than six meters high, which is roughly the same as Apa Military City. However, the Fire River Plain is surrounded by mountains. If you want to attack Fire River City, you need to capture the northeastern part first. Or several passes in the southeast. The most suitable route is to send troops from Yeshan Village to attack the relatively wide southeast pass!"
"Um."
Shulot recalled the map of the western mountainous area. Because of the obstacles of the mountains, there are only two ways to attack the Fire River Plain: one is to go to the southwest first, pass through Yeshan Village and then turn to the northwest. The other one is to go northwest first, go deep into the western mountainous area, and then turn southwest. Starting from Apa City, the distance between the two roads is about 500 miles, and most of them are mountain roads, which is an absolute nightmare for logistics.
"Ezpan, how many warriors do you need to defeat Ymar and capture Fire River City?"
"Your Majesty, if there is sufficient food supply, a thousand strong bronze armors, and enough canine warriors to assist you, I can defeat the enemy for you!"
Upon hearing the king's question, Ezpin's face showed excitement, like a hound that smelled meat.
"With only my Lance Corps, plus the Guakili Corps, we can defeat Ymar, set fire to the Fire River Plain, and break through the Fire River City!"
In mountainous terrain, the Guakili Corps is definitely needed. These canine light soldiers are too easy to use and are especially good at chasing down enemy troops.
"Ezpin, I'm not asking you to rob and leave."
Shulot shook his head.
"I want you to occupy the Fire River City, firmly control the Fire River Plain, and organize thousands of miners to dig the Colima Mine."
"Ah? You want to bring the Fire River Plain into your rule?"
Ezpin hesitated. Conquering a territory only requires strong force. To occupy and rule such a remote mountain territory, you need to control the people. The difficulty level of the two is not at the same level at all. After thinking about it, Ezpin gritted his teeth.
"Your Majesty, I can do it! After capturing the Fire River Plain, we will first forcibly move tens of thousands of Tekos people out of the mountains, and then send the canine legions to sweep the surrounding mountain villages two hundred miles away! Then, set fire to the mountains every autumn. , burn down villages and farmland, and drive away birds and beasts. Then seal the apertures in the mountains and prevent sea salt from entering the mountains!..."
"After destroying the guerrilla Tekos tribe in the mountains, more than ten thousand obedient civilians were moved from the kingdom, mixed with the surrendered tribesmen, and then established military camps on the Fire River Plain... This continued for several years, until the belief in the Lord God If you are stable, you can control the Fire River Plain!"
"Um."
Shurot looked at Ezpin deeply for a moment, without making any comments. He pondered for a long time and said lightly.
"Let the envoy of the Colima tribe come to see you!"
One of the guards hurried away. Within a quarter of an hour, a wild Tekos girl came to the king with bare feet, an obsidian necklace, and a bright short robe. The girl is twenty-eight years old, with delicate eyebrows, a straight nose, and a slightly pursed mouth. She has a tall and tall figure, moves as quickly as a leopard, is full of youthful vitality, and exudes a wild aura. And behind her, followed a maid holding a gorgeous wooden box.
"The mighty Death Chief, warrior of the Colima tribe, Elaine, greets you!"
The girl Elaine knelt down on one knee and saluted the king. Her eyes were curious and untamed, boldly looking at the king, as if assessing his strength.
Shulot raised his brows, looked at the wild and pretty girl for a while, and then spoke calmly.
"Are you Imar's daughter?"
"Warchief, Imar is my father, but I am the warrior Elaine!"
Elaine held her head high and answered calmly.
"Ha ha!"
Hearing the girl's stubborn words, Shulot smiled and asked with interest.
"Why did Imar ask you to come?"
"Father asked me to come here, as the tribe's envoy, to deliver gifts!"
Elaine took the gorgeous wooden box from the maid and handed it to the king's bodyguard. The guard inspected it for a moment and then handed the wooden box to the king.
In the wooden box, there were a pair of jade stones as big as fists, an obsidian necklace, a gold wine glass, and two extremely sharp daggers. The Colima Mountains are 500 miles from east to west and 300 miles from north to south. It is an area with frequent volcanic activity and produces jade, obsidian, gold and silver. The necklace and wine glass themselves prove the manufacturing level and forging capabilities of Colima's various ministries.
Shulot's attention quickly focused on the dagger. These two daggers are silver-grey in color, and their tentacles are cold and hard like metal. They are actually rare iron tools!
"This is?"
"Great Chief, these are the magic weapons inherited by the tribe, a gift from the God of Fire! To show his sincerity, my father specially dedicated these two magic weapons to you!"
"The inherited magic weapon..."
Shulot's expression became serious.
"Elaine, are there many such magical weapons in Colima? How did you make them?"
"Great Chief, there are very few magic weapons. They are the ancient inheritance of each tribe. Legend has it that they are related to the gift from the God of Fire. As for the manufacturing method, the tribe has lost it for a long time."
Elaine shook her head and answered sincerely.
"The Colima tribe only has these two magic weapons, and I will donate them all to you today! They are gifts from the God of Fire, so they must not be in contact with water for a long time, otherwise they will lose their power."
Shulot was silent for a moment, making some guesses. A long time ago, there may have been scattered open-pit iron ore in the Colima Mountains, which was discovered by the ancestors of the Tekos people and forged into inherited magic weapons. And when the ore in the open air ran out, the magic weapon was lost... After a while, the king slowly nodded.
"Imar has a heart. I will remember his deference."
"Mighty Great Chief, in addition to these, my father will also give you the most precious gift!"
"Oh? What is it?"
"it's me!"
The girl Elaine spoke boldly and without any shyness. She took off her short robe directly, revealing her strong and tight body, her belly with waistcoat line, and her round and strong thighs.
"Great Chief, my father asked me to serve you! I can sing for you, dance for you, bathe you, and have fun with you! But I can even better wear armor and hold a spear for you, hold a bow for hunting, protect you, and kill you. enemy!"
After saying that, the girl looked calm and looked at the king passionately.
"..."
Shulot was speechless for a moment. The image of Medina flashed in the king's mind, making him sigh in his heart. In a short period of time, he was not prepared to keep the girl Elaine by his side. But as the daughter of Chief Colima and an important hostage in a sense, the other party could not repatriate or arrange at will... The king was silent for a while and made a decision.
"Elaine, I will not leave you by my side. You will go to the Divine Power University in the royal capital to study with the priests of the Lord God and learn from God's enlightenment!"
"Uh, divine enlightenment? Going to school? What is that?"
The wild girl looked confused. Somehow, she had a hunch: this was something more difficult than hunting and fighting.
"That's writing, calendar, herbal medicine, theology, nature, and the future promised by the Lord God!"
Shulot smiled faintly and waved to the confused girl.
"Go down, Elaine! Go and study hard!"
Later, the king asked Ezpan to prepare a return gift and give it to Fire River City. The return gift included a pure gold hummingbird sun talisman, an illustrated version of the Ali Sutra, a brand new bronze sword, and a pair of solid bronze armor. These are the symbols of the kingdom's religion, culture and force. Chief Ymar will understand the meaning of the king.
After arranging all this, Black Wolf's King Banner will set off again. However, before that, Ezpin had one final report.
