The summer is hot and the autumn wind blows. This is the node of death and harvest, like the yellowing grass in the mountains. Teams of canine warriors escorted hundreds of young Mixtecs, carrying looted property, on their way back north.
The same scene also appeared in the north of the Tehuacan Valley, which was the territory conquered by the Mexica. The resistance of all tribes turned into death and ashes.
In the valley further south, large groups of canine warriors wearing leather armor, holding bronze soldiers, and wearing bone ornaments were running and patrolling. The howling of wolves echoed across the mountains and valleys, accompanied by the sounds of fighting that broke out from time to time. After a moment of fierce shouting, there was a dead silence.
At this time, the Mixtec prisoners who were busy digging holes would always pause for a moment, showing uncontrollable fear on their faces. Then, the whips of the soldiers from Shenshi City would be waved down mercilessly, urging the prisoners to continue. In every place where the valley tribes were destroyed, there was a bloody pit. In the pit, the venerable cloud priests, the noble warriors of the sacred city, and the humble village militia all had their bodies overlapped and were gradually buried in the soil. After the bones were buried, the young and strong male and female captives would be selected, loaded with plundered tribal food and property, and embarked on the long road north.
As for the remaining old, weak and children, the Mexican warriors did not care and did not do any unnecessary killing. Jaguars in the jungle never spend unnecessary energy catching food that cannot be taken away. What's more, His Merciful Highness never likes killing, so the warriors under his command will naturally restrain themselves.
Groups of young captives were like trickling streams or obedient deer, gathering from all over the valley until they reached Huacong Village in the north. Then, the deer gathered into a torrent of tens of thousands and entered the desolate land of Tlaxcala, heading to the farther north.
"The north, what is it? I heard from the superior leader that it is also the territory of the northern barbarians. It is full of white-skinned snake people. Like the green-skinned jaguar people, they dig out the hearts and sacrifice them, which is extremely cruel. By the way, And there’s a red-haired man-eating werewolf!”
The tribesman Didi lowered his head and glanced at the canine hunters carefully. Then, he looked towards the north of the plateau. It was a place he had never been before, like a deep black abyss under an ant nest.
"The leader often said that the north is the land of Tlaxcala. The warriors wear white uniforms and claim to be descendants of the serpent in the clouds. And the northwest is the land of the Aztecs. The warriors wear dark green uniforms. War clothes, claiming to be ferocious jaguars. Only the south is the land of the ancient rain god! The warriors wear blue battle clothes. They are the descendants of the rain god, conceived from the sacred tree in the clouds, and Not the descendant of any bird or beast..."
Thinking of this, Didi shook her head in confusion. As a low-level tribesman, he couldn't distinguish between so many things, and he didn't understand anything about divinity and birds and beasts. In the tribe, he always listened to the words of the leader. He bowed his head and worked hard in the fields all day long, and he never thought about it.
But now, he was captured by the red-haired barbarian and walked away for a long time. Along the way, many nobles and priests who were like gods were killed by the barbarians in front of his eyes, like turkeys in the village, and buried by his own hands. And now, he is wearing the clothes of the leader, even stained with blood...
"No, the priests in the tribe will also sacrifice their hearts. Isn't that the same, as cruel as the barbarians?"
Didi, the ant citizen, was thinking wildly and even dared to question the leader's words. Inexplicably, there seemed to be something more in his heart, but he couldn't figure it out. However, the road ahead is still long, perhaps longer than he imagined, and there will always be a chance for him to understand.
"Woo, woo...Rain God!...That's, that's...woo woo!"
Didi was walking with his head down, and the crying in the captive team suddenly became louder. Even the canine warriors couldn't stop it with their spears.
"ah!"
Shouts of fear echoed throughout the entire team. Many older prisoners knelt on the ground, facing forward, hanging their heads and crying in despair. Didi, along with them, also knelt on the ground and stared blankly ahead.
Not far ahead is the sacred Cloud Temple, where the legendary rain god and his servants live. But at this moment, next to the stone statue in front of the Yunzhong Temple, there is a tall Beijing temple.
Thousands of heads were piled together, rotting in the hot summer heat. But at the highest point, the large piece of head still has a sacred bright feather crown, representing the immortal identity of the rain god priests!
At this moment, Didi's mind went blank. It was not a fear of death, but a fear that went beyond death and reached deep into the heart, a fear of the death of gods. The humble ant people lay on the ground, trembling, unable to believe it, unable to control themselves, just crying and murmuring.
"Ah! The priests of the Yunzhong Temple, the gentlemen who are bigger than the sky, are all...all dead?...Ah! How could this happen! Ah!..."
"Bah! You're crying like this, you're not even afraid of death. What a strange southern tribe!"
Hunter Chabo gritted his teeth, lowered the spear in his hand, took a "poof", and left the howling crowd. At this moment, these prisoners seemed to have lost their souls, like walking corpses, crying in despair and wailing wildly. Even the immediate threat of death could not stop them. At this moment, such a Mixtec man made even the experienced wilderness hunters feel deeply uneasy.
"Don't worry! They just cry for a while, and when they've cried enough, howled enough, and run out of energy, they'll go on the road again. These southern tribes regard the gods as more important than their own lives!"
Hunter Mikui looked at it for a while and shook his head needlessly. However, he also held the spear tightly in his hand, keeping the hunter's vigilance.
"Hey! It's really unlucky for you to cry."
Hunter Chapo curled his lips. He tilted his head and looked at Jingguan, which was not very scary to him, and then looked at the temple in the distance and the black wolf guards stationed outside the temple.
"Eh? Mikui, do you think the powerful Black Wolf Chief is in this temple in the cloud?"
"Ah, no way? The powerful Chief Black Wolf should be leading his army to plunder further south in the valley. I heard that the Chief has several thousand more soldiers, and they are invincible along the way, and the fire is all over the place. It’s burning to the end of the mountains!”
"Hey, what use are the thousands of soldiers from the southern tribes who have surrendered? That is, when they attack the city, they are driven to the stronghold. If we really want to fight in the wild, two thousand elite legions can defeat them!"
Hunter Chapo held his head high, somewhat disdainful of Mixtec's combat prowess. Then, he looked at the temple in the mountain, imagined the belongings inside, and couldn't help but lick his lips.
"Mikui, if Chief Black Wolf is not here, why are there the chief's guards at the entrance of the temple? The temples of these southern tribes are very wealthy. If we can go in, we can touch a few... .”
"What?! Cha Bo, you can't do this randomly! The chief is really ruthless when he governs the army... If you don't want to live anymore, don't take me with you!"
Hearing this, hunter Mikui was startled. He quickly covered Chabo's mouth and pulled him a few steps away. The prisoners' cries continued, covering up all subsequent dialogue.
The hunter Mikui held Chabo, whispered a few words, and pointed to the bamboo basket of food carried by Didi. Chabo was stunned, lowered his voice, and asked something quickly. Mikui nodded affirmatively, and the two of them smiled happily.
"Okay, that's great, thank you to the Earth Mother Goddess! Mikui, my good brother, when we return to the tribe's flag team, we will sell those things and let the flag team have a good year!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Although the chief turns a blind eye, he will not be lenient if the war priests accompanying him really find out!"
"...Yes, you are right. However, the war priests of the Lord God usually let go and will not investigate seriously. Why should we hand over to the legion what we grabbed with our own skill and ax and spear?" ..Hey! The Black Wolf Chief is better, the Mother Goddess of the Earth is better than the priests of the Lord God!..."
Hunter Cha Bo had a happy face and shouted excitedly for a while, even saying some forbidden words. Then, he scratched his head, still a little strange.
"So many great chief's guards, so many elite warriors... What exactly is there in this cloud temple?"
"Whatever! Maybe it's some important sacrifice. The chiefs value this the most."
Hunter Mikwe didn't care. His eyes were always looking at the back of the ant citizen Didi. Until Didi finished crying and stood up carelessly, the heavy bamboo basket remained steady and did not tip over at all.
"Well, this prisoner is pretty good!"
Chabo and Mikui looked at each other, smiled and nodded. Then, two shrill wolf howls sounded from their mouths, which was breathtaking and reached the ears of the crying captives.
"Aow, ow! The Rain God is dead! The Lord God, the Supreme! Let's go, turkeys, keep going north, let's go!"
Under the orders of the dog-born warriors, thousands of Mixtec prisoners staggered, stood up from the ground, and walked numbly towards the north. At this moment, their eyes were filled with deathly silence, and there was no hope of the Rain God anymore. The land of death is full of colors, using the bones of dead gods to breed new beliefs and new vitality.
