The wind blows to the southeast, the rain falls in the valley, the earth is soaked in bright red, and corpses lie everywhere. Scavenging eagles fell from the lush farmland, lowering their heads to peck without fear of pedestrians; midsummer flies came smelling the fishy smell, gathered in groups, and feasted.
Mixtec villages were billowing with black smoke, and raging fires were burning and extinguished in the rain. And when the sunny day came, the flames of destruction ignited again and continued for several days.
This is the prosperous Tehuacan Valley, located more than 500 miles southeast of the capital city in the lake, 300 miles southeast of Shuigu City, and 120 miles southeast of Huacong Village. It is the most important northern gathering place of the Mixtec tribe.
The Salado River in the south originates from the mountains to the east of the valley, winds all the way south, irrigates the fertile soil of the valley for three hundred miles, flows through the hinterland of the Mixtec Alliance, and reaches the dangerous Yunshan City. (yanhuitlán).
The Salado River then joins other streams and flows into the Río Verde further south. The Verde River continues southward, meandering for six hundred miles in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains, and merges into the vast North Pacific near Huitzoctli. Of course, the Salado River and the Verde River are both names from the colonial era. In this era, they were collectively called by the Mixtecs, "the mother river of life given by the rain god."
Mountains gather clouds and rain, and valleys nurture fertile soil. Rivers nourish the fields and people gather there. From Huacong Village in the north to Zhongcheng in the south, it is nine hundred miles from north to south and two to three hundred miles from east to west. Among them, the mountain valleys suitable for farming are the gathering places of more than 800,000 Mixtec tribes. Among the many Mixtec valleys, the Tehuacan Valley in the north is the richest one!
More than 150,000 Mixtec tribes settled in this fertile valley and established the ancient sacred stone hill city (tehuacán).
Star-studded villages are scattered around the Holy Stone City, like beans surrounding corn, supporting the priests and nobles in the clouds who have been respected for generations. Ten miles east of Shenshi City is the more ancient Yunzhong Temple, one of the two sacred sites of the Mixtecs, and the Tehuacan Pyramid standing in the mountains!
The "Temple in the Clouds", the Pyramid of Tehuacan, is not in the City of Divine Stone. It is similar to the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon. They are both classical wonders built during the Teotihuacan era and are located in mountains convenient for quarrying. The Divine Stone City is located on the hilly land by the river, occupying a vast fertile land by the river.
In the hearts of the Mixtec tribes who worship gods, the Tehuacán Pyramid in the north is where the ancient gods live, while the Holy Land of Clouds in the south is the sanctuary of the rain god Zavi.
Clouds drifted in from the south, covering the valley filled with fighting. On the east side of the towering Divine Stone City, a fierce battle was going on.
Mixtec tribes produced the dye "Mayan Blue" and also admired the blue of the sky. Three thousand Mixtec warriors, wearing blue cotton armor and pointed cloth hats, spread across the wilderness, fighting with two thousand Tlaxcala soldiers in white cotton armor. Thousands of warring warriors wielded obsidian war clubs and fought on the moist red soil. Every minute, dozens of people fell to the ground and died.
At this moment, the noble life of the warrior was withering like weeds in the field, not worth mentioning.
"Rain God Zhawi, protect us!"
"Kill, kill them and go rescue the temple in the mountain!"
"The enemy can no longer hold on any longer!"
The brutal fighting only lasted for two moments, and the Tlaxcala warriors could no longer hold on. Their number is slightly smaller, and most of them are newly recruited surrendered soldiers, so their morale is very low. The ability to barely hold on at this time depends entirely on the dense formation and brave leaders.
The military leader Koo, wearing cloud-patterned leather armor, a tiger-head wooden helmet, and a gold pendant around his neck, stood behind the Mixtec military formation. In the Mixtec language, "Guku" means blue snake, possessing the divinity in the clouds. From this name, we can see his respected status.
Gu Ku's left hand was tied with a blue feather wooden shield, his right hand held an exquisite silver-inlaid war stick, and he carried a bunch of bright feathers behind his back. The feather bundle is two meters high, filled with gorgeous green, blue, and white bird feathers, like reeds in summer, swaying high in the warrior formation, and looks very eye-catching.
The plume is the typical symbol of the Mixtec chief, like the banner of the confederate commander. Like the Mexica and Tlaxcala people in the north, the Mixtec chiefs who commanded the legions would wear more gorgeous uniforms, put on more feathers, and carry more obvious symbols.
In the Central American army, as the commander-in-chief, he must be visible to all warriors!
"Kill! Fight for the supreme and powerful God of Death! As long as you perform well in battle, you can be promoted to a warrior and gain land in the kingdom!..."
The fighting in the front line continued, and the Tlaxcalans were shaky but never collapsed. The incomprehensible Nahua language shouts floated from afar, carrying the names of gods, as if they were given extra fighting spirit.
Military leader Gu Ku narrowed his eyes, stood at a high place, and carefully observed the battle situation ahead. Soon, a middle-aged warrior wielding a bronze spear and fighting hard came into his eyes. This middle-aged warrior wore leather armor and a bronze feather helmet, standing at the forefront of the military formation. Whenever the military formation was on the verge of collapse, he would shout loudly to boost the morale of the Tlaxcala warriors.
"Rain God Warrior Riki! Go and take a hundred Rain God Hunters to kill that feathered warrior! Under the siege of the Mexicans, the noble mountain temple cannot hold on for long. We must support it as soon as possible! "
"Yes, leader!"
Richie, the warrior of the rain god, fell to his knees and kowtowed heavily like a woodpecker. In fact, his name means "woodpecker" in Mixtec. The Mixtecs call themselves "people of the clouds" and like things close to the sky, so they naturally respect birds. The god they fear most is the rain god Zhawi, the main god in charge of the sky and rainfall.
"Come with me and kill that leader!"
"Woodpecker" Richie shouted, holding up his war stick, he came to the front line of the military formation. Hundreds of elite Rain God hunters, all tied with shields and holding war clubs, swarmed to the front. The hunters carried two obsidian throwing spears on their backs. They stood still, made threatening bird calls, and then drew out their sharp spears and aimed them at the enemy's leader!
Seeing this scene, the commander of the surrender battalion, Tetica, frowned and immediately turned around and ran away without hesitation. In the Nahua language, the name "Tetica" does not have any divine meaning, it is just an ordinary "stone", just like the "bolts and stones" in the name of the Celestial Dynasty.
With such an ordinary name, "Shuanzhu" Tetica naturally does not have a high background. In the Tlaxcala Alliance, which respected the noble race, there was absolutely no possibility for him to gain the power to command thousands of people. Under the new order brought by the Mexicans, he was able to be promoted to the commander of the demobilized battalion and survived several difficult battles because he was not afraid of life and death, dared to fight hard, and was able to read the situation accurately and respond flexibly.
"Whoosh!"
The ferocious spear shot from the air, with great power, breaking the warrior's shield. Dozens of Tlaxcala warriors in the front line were directly shot through by throwing spears, nailed to the soft soil, and let out miserable screams that were not like human voices. Then, in just a few breaths, the second round of death-throwing spears struck again!
"Whoosh!"
"ah!..."
The leader of the army turned around and fled. The warriors in the front group suffered heavy casualties. The Tlaxcala soldiers could no longer hold on, howling in panic, and collapsed instantly. The remaining more than a thousand surrendered soldiers threw away their shields and war clubs, and fled to the mountains and forests to the east in a panic.
"Haha! The famous Mexica Legion seems to be nothing more than that! Hurry, go east quickly and chase me!"
In just a moment, the thousands of warriors who had resisted tenaciously just now turned into embarrassed turkeys running around and being slaughtered. The military leader Guku laughed and was very proud.
Today's fight, defeating thousands of warriors, is a rare achievement in the Mixtec Alliance. If he successfully rescues the Yunzhong Temple again, he will be sure to win next year's tribal election for the Lord of the Divine Stone City!
Yes, compared with the relatively centralized ministries in the north, the Mixtec alliance in the south has looser politics and maintains a backward tribal electoral system. Every once in a while, the top leader of each valley will be determined through the election of leaders. Of course, only divine warriors with noble blood are eligible to participate in such a leader election.
Hundreds of Tlaxcala warriors fled eastward without resistance. Three thousand Mixtec troops shouted bird calls and chased and killed them excitedly. The bright and eye-catching leader feathers are also constantly moving eastward, surrounded by hundreds of Rain God hunters.
The Mixtec warriors were immersed in the joy of victory and killing, stepping on the corpses of the Tlaxcalans and chasing them into the rolling mountain forests. This sacred mountain forest is the home of the Mixtec souls, so how can we allow the evil Mexica Legion to occupy it for a long time?
With this idea in mind, the Mixtec warriors who pursued him were merciless and desperate. Soon, the towering Temple in the Clouds appeared several miles away, adding an exciting piety to the joy in the warriors' eyes. The blue-armored Mixtec warriors chased, excited, until a particularly sharp eagle whistle suddenly sounded in the deep mountains!
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