It was getting dusk, and there was a bit of drowsiness in the big tent. The bonfire in the corner was swaying, drawing out the shadows of the canine warriors and making people feel a little warm.
Hearing Alan's words, the old militiaman felt sweat on his forehead. The other party's Guakili voice was low, and although he couldn't quite understand it, he could feel the obvious hostility and indifference. This is obviously different from what my son said. Where is the "easy-to-talk Sister Alan" that I promised?
"Chief of the Red Crow Tribe!..."
Two steps away, Priest Mekart looked serious and his eyes were sharp. He puffed up his chest, took a step forward, and was about to retort. The old militiaman next to him shook his arm and quickly grabbed Priest Mekart. He stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully.
"Dear and powerful Chief Red Crow!... We are not warrior leaders, but captains and priests of the kingdom's exploration fleet. We encountered a storm at sea, so we drifted to the northern coast..."
The old militiaman had a smile on his face and kept his posture very low. He heard Chippawa say it and vaguely guessed the source of the hostility. He carefully explained in unskilled Guakili.
"We are the fleet of the Kingdom of the Lake, not the fleet of the Mexica Alliance... There are no Mexicans in our fleet, they are all Prepecha..."
Hearing these words, Chief Alan pursed his lips and his eyes softened slightly. She pondered for a while, looked at the wrinkles on the old militiaman's face, and asked in a deep voice.
"Are you all from Prepecha?...Are you the captain of the ship, the father of Chippawa?..."
"Yes! That's right! It's really the blessing of our ancestors that Chipawana boy can follow you!..."
"Hmm... I've seen the grave that Chipawa built for you... the person he painted looks nothing like you..."
"Ah! This...uh...that..."
Seeing the old militiaman's embarrassment, Alan chuckled. The silver mask on her face was still cold, but the curve of her lips was much softer. She tilted her head slightly, pondered for a while, and then asked seriously.
"As Prepecha people, why do you want to serve the king of the Mexica?"
Hearing such a question, Priest Mecat glanced at Chihuaco, the old militiaman, and finally stepped forward to answer.
"Respected Chief of the Red Crow Tribe! We are not serving the king of the Mexica people, we are serving the king of the Kingdom of the Lake! ... Although he is the highness of the Mexica people, he is the king of all Prepechas. The revered King!"
"Oh? This is quite different from what I heard before..."
Hearing this, Alan under the mask raised his eyebrows. She stared at Priest Mecat's face and saw no pretense, only honesty. She was silent for a while, her cold mask covering all her expressions. It wasn't until a moment later that she asked coldly.
"The Prepecha people who serve the Mexicans. Tell me! What is your intention when you appear on the coast of the Red Crow Alliance? This is the territory of the tribe, and the enemy's prying and conspiracy are not allowed. If you can't prove yourself , convince me, you will not be able to leave here! And the boundless northern grassland will be your destination for the rest of your life..."
Hearing this, the old militiaman Chihuaco's heart trembled. He licked his dry lips, looked at Priest Mecat who was also nervous, and answered carefully.
"Dear powerful Northern Chief, the story of our fleet will be a long, long one..."
"Witness the ancestors! I will listen to you and look at your faces to tell if you are lying! No one can lie to me!"
"Well... we set out from the Crow City of the Huastec people, and according to the prophecy of the main god, we went to find the long island in the eastern sea where Quetzalcoatl's corpse was transformed... We shouldered the mission of the gods to establish an outpost of the kingdom there. Resist the invasion of white-skinned evil spirits..."
"The prophecy of the God of War? A white-skinned demon?"
"The Lord God witnesses! That is the enemy that will appear on the sea in the prophecy, the enemy of the entire world!"
Priest Mecat straightened his back, his eyes were bright, and his eyes were full of conviction. He spoke Guakili as fluently as a Guakili man of the wilderness.
"The white-skinned demons will have roaring beasts, roaring thunder, and huge snake ships! They will pretend to be messengers of the gods, but they will have a deep greed for gold and silver. They will hold high the cross of the evil god and destroy The temples of the gods and the tombs of the ancestors! They will even spread the plague of death, spreading terrible poisonous clouds in the air, causing the descendants of the Jiao people to fester all over their bodies and die in extremely miserable ways..."
"In accordance with the prophecy of the Lord God... we traveled a thousand miles along the Totonac Coast, crossed the Hidden Serpent City... rowed through more than two thousand miles along the Mayan Coast, and saw countless Mayans... passed through the terrifying deep sea and storms , we found the Cuban Snake Island in the distant East China Sea! Then, we rowed across the three thousand miles of Snake Island coast and met many Taino tribes... God bless us! After so many hardships and obstacles, we finally found We found the location of the outpost in the prophecy, that astonishingly large iron mine!...Ugh!..."
The Mecat priest's voice was loud and impassioned. He talked for several quarters of an hour without stopping, talking about many unique experiences during the voyage and the customs and customs of the coastal areas. It was not until the end of the exploration story that he suddenly woke up and stopped talking.
Alan is wearing a mask, and his specific expression cannot be seen. However, she leaned back, supported her chin with her hands, and listened carefully to the exploration of the distant coast. She was attracted by the sailing stories, and she actually had a lot of yearnings in her heart. At this moment, she already had some faith in the origin of the fleet. Because of the demeanor, tone and details of the other party's story, and so many firm little expressions... No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a lie...
Then, she suddenly sat up straight and keenly captured the words of Priest Mecat.
"The prophesied, big iron mine?"
The powerful Chief Alan wears a mask and his eyes are as sharp as knives. She stared intently at Priest Mecat's face and asked in a deep voice.
"What is iron ore? According to what you just said, it is black, a stone as hard as copper ore? It is so important that you need to travel six thousand miles to find it on that long snake island?"
"Well…"
Beads of sweat suddenly appeared on Priest Mekart's forehead. He turned his head and glanced at the old militiaman Chihuaco, who also had sweat on his face and was speechless for a moment.
"Don't even think about lying to me! Otherwise, I will separate you all and torture you one by one!"
Alan's eyes were extremely sharp, the eyes of a marksman. Even though the light in the tent was dim, she could still clearly see their faces and every subtle expression on their faces. She has discovered that there are far more details on people's faces than she imagined. And this is one of the reasons why she wears a mask.
"Uh... Iron ore is a black, hard stone like copper ore..."
"So, like copper mine, it can forge weapons and armor? So what is the difference between it and copper?"
"Well...it's like copper...but not as big..."
"That's right! Your kingdom in the lake is good at smelting and produces a large number of bronze weapons. So, after all your efforts, you have found this iron ore, which must be better than copper!"
"Ah! Ah this..."
Looking at the two people with sweaty heads and stuttering voices, Alan raised the corners of his mouth. The slight nervous expression on the other side had already said everything. The cold mask was full of majesty, hiding the pride on the girl's face under the mask. She pursed her lips and looked at the two of them sharply for a while, then waved.
"Plepechas who serve the Mexica...you have proven yourselves and you have not lied. I will not exile you to the far northern steppes to keep company with the running northern bison...I will also let you go south. , go and report back to your king..."
"But, you must! Two people must stay! They must stay here and continue to tell me sailing stories... and then search for iron ore for the Red Crow Tribe!..."
(End of chapter)
