Flowers bloom on the other side, and early summer is a gorgeous time. Blue wildflowers sway in the grass on the beach. Continuous shrubs stretch out their green branches. Together with the red birds flying in the sky and the gray rabbits running in the grass, they form a vibrant picture.
Such magnificent scenery is simply unforgettable in the eyes of people who have experienced wandering and surviving disasters. The old militiaman Chihuaco knelt on the beach, looking greedily at everything in front of him, breathing in the reassuring smell of earth. And when he saw the beautiful spoonbill standing there, he drooled with joy.
"What a fat heron...so good!"
The fleet docked, and the archers on board finally had the opportunity to practice their bow skills and hunt game. By late afternoon, longboats lay on the beach and bonfires were lit on the shore. The aroma of the hot grilled meat, the freshly cooked thick white fish soup, and the delicious soft-boiled turtle eggs made you feel like you were in the Kingdom of God in an instant.
After eating and drinking enough, everyone finally came back to life. And lying on the solid ground, I was finally able to have a good sleep. When the morning sun falls on the face, new hope leaps into everyone's hearts. And coming together, there is another key issue.
"This is where?"
"Blessed by the Lord God! It's still around 23 degrees north latitude... It should be the land of Huastec. If we want to return to the area occupied by the kingdom, we have to go south along the coast!"
Hearing this answer, the old militiaman nodded. He counted the crew, twenty-one men, a third of whom were wounded, and two children. As for the Mayan shipwrights and bee slaves provided by the Cocom family...
"On Tavaru's ship, it probably fell into the hands of the Totonak people."
"Um."
The old militiaman was silent for a while and then went to check the cabin again. There were weapons to arm forty men in the cabin, and more than a dozen pairs of bronze cloth face armor. As for valuable Cuban crops, there were two baskets of cassava stalks and a bag of seeds from the marabou tree. Fortunately, the cassava stems were inedible and the oil tree seeds were poisonous, so they were all preserved. As for the belongings, there are a small bag of herbs, two bags of gems, a dozen rolls of cotton cloth, and some ore samples collected in Cuba. There were originally two bags of cocoa beans, but they were all eaten by everyone while rafting.
"Where's the chart to the southern continent given by the Mayans?"
"I keep it here and look at it carefully several times."
Priest Mecat touched the sea chart he kept close to his chest and said softly.
"But some of the markings are hard to understand."
Hearing this, the old militiaman shook his head. The Mayan merchant Tikalo is gone, and no one can explain these incomprehensible markings. However, if Tikallo breaks out with the fleet, his chance of survival may be worse than falling into the hands of the Totonac people.
"Let's go! Go south. It's best to find a Huastec village and let the wounded recover for a while."
The longship went south along the coast, unable to borrow wind or follow the ocean current. Everyone rowed reluctantly, and there were not enough oarsmen, so they could only travel thirty miles a day. Two days later, they finally came to a wide river mouth. And after rowing upstream along the river mouth for more than ten miles, we finally found a small Huastec village.
"We can't leave anymore! We must let the wounded rest for a few days and find some herbs..."
Chihuaco, the old militiaman, squinted his eyes and examined the small village by the river. It is said to be a village, but in fact it is just a few thatched huts, a semi-underground cave house, and two patches of green farmland. The Huastec tribesmen in the village were all bare-chested, wearing only a pocket-cloth. They talked a lot and looked curiously at the docked longship. And because there were not many people in the fleet, the villagers had no fear.
"Blessed by the Lord God! The Huastec tribes are loyal vassals of the alliance... There are a lot of gems and cloth on the ship. We can repair it here for a while and replenish some food... It would be even better if we could recruit some rowing sailors!..."
Priest Mecat held the sun amulet around his neck and prayed a few more words devoutly. Then, he walked to the village on the shore and patiently communicated with the only village elder who could speak Mexica.
"Rain God! Are you... the warriors of the Great Alliance, who survived the storm at sea?"
The village elder looked at the two leaders of the fleet with a surprised look on his face. His old eyebrows trembled for a while, wanting to say something, but in the end he just sighed.
"The warriors of the Great Alliance...I finally met the warriors of the Alliance!...Twenty people, only twenty people...Hey! Rain God!"
Listening to the village's unclear Mexica language, the old militiaman Chihuaco and the divine priest Mecat looked at each other, not knowing what the other was sighing about. The old militiaman waited patiently for a while until the other party's emotions calmed down before he asked.
"Dear village elders, we would like to spend some time repairing here and exchange some food and herbs... We have gems and cloth in return..."
"Ah? How many days will you be repairing in the village?"
"Yes! The wounded on the ship must lie down and rest. They suffered trauma and have not been properly treated..."
"Oh! Okay! Okay, okay...you guys can stay here!"
The village elder hesitated for a while, looked at the sincere and insistent old militiaman, and finally nodded. His old face was full of wrinkles, making even the slightest change in expression difficult to detect.
"You guys live here! There is food! I will give you my hut..."
After receiving the promise from the village elders, the old militiamen were full of gratitude. He took the remaining crew members and settled in the village peacefully.
This Huastec village is obviously not rich, only the food is sufficient. The styles of the thatched huts in the village are very new. They seem to have just been built less than two years ago. They may have been moved from somewhere new.
The old militiaman wanted to find someone to talk to, but he couldn't understand the Huastec language of the villagers. From the gesticulating gestures made by both sides, he only vaguely guessed that this tribe had "migrated" from the south during the "war" in the "South".
"War in the South? Dogborn and Huastec?"
Hearing this, Priest Mekart was also a little puzzled. For the priests of the kingdom, the coast of Huastek is too far away, and it is difficult for the information here to be transmitted to the kingdom in the lake. In the past few years, he has been sailing away and has never paid attention to the land of Huastek.
"God bless you! Just ask the village elder who can speak Mexica, and you will know?"
"The village elder is not here. Before he left, he told me that he was going to other villages to borrow some food and herbs..."
"Oh! Captain Qi, let's wait until he comes back before asking! Anyway, we have to repair for a while, and we won't be in a hurry to go south."
】
"Um."
The old militiaman frowned, always feeling that something was wrong. An unknown premonition lingered in his mind, but he couldn't explain the reason. It wasn't until early morning two days later that the village elders appeared again. At the same time, more than 80 fierce and tattooed canine warriors appeared and attacked the people who were preparing breakfast!
"Ha! What a bunch of weak and fat prey!"
The red-haired canine captain carried a bronze spear and led a large group of soldiers holding bows and spears, surrounding the people who had no time to put on armor. He looked at the weapons in everyone's hands, and then at the long boats on the shore, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Take them down and tie them up! Hand over your weapons, don't resist, let you live! Otherwise, I will shoot you to death!"
