"Witness the Lord God! In the Lake Kingdom, the person responsible for compiling the kingdom's epic is the chief minister, the kingdom's chief priest, and the fifth-level chief priest, Sage Jatiri..."
The night is deep and the dawn is quietly hidden. The long conversation under the moonlit night continued on the hill. Shulot lowered his head slightly, his thoughts wandering, and he was silent.
Sage Jatiri's position as the fifth-level suzerain priest is an internal position within the kingdom, derived from his canonization and has not been approved by the high priests of the royal capital. And he promoted the sage Jatiri to the fifth-level chief priest. In fact, he established a separate theocratic center in the kingdom to secretly confront the high priests in the capital.
"Pap, since you are on the seaside, sitting in the Olmec holy city, compiling the epic of the ancestors...then your position should be only one level lower than Sage Jatiri, as the fourth-level chief priest!... That is Say, Pap, in the seaside land, your priesthood is only behind the fourth-level seaside high priest, head of the Inquisition, and the priest of Yitri!..."
After thinking for a moment, Shulot smiled. He patted Pappu's shoulder heavily and made a generous promise.
"The fourth-level chief priest, the second person in the seaside priesthood, is in charge of epic compilation and governs the ancient holy city of Olmec! How about it, Papu, I didn't treat you badly, did I? ... As long as you work hard and compile the various parts The ancestral epic of the same origin can leave an immortal and shining name in the history of the kingdom! As for your helpers...the surrendered priests and sages of the various coastal tribes, I can let you select thirty of them first and bring them under your command. !…”
"Ah! The fourth-level chief priest, the second person in the seaside priest group?!"
Upon hearing such a lofty position, General Papu's eyes widened immediately, and his breathing became much heavier. But soon, he realized that this nominal fourth-level chief priest was actually just a noble and fictitious position.
He governs the Olmec Holy City Diocese, which is currently just an ancient ruins with not many tribal members at all. He also had no temple guards, no reliable warriors. What's more, in the kingdom's priest system, he, a newly surrendered guy, has no foundation at all... In other words, this so-called high position of chief priest is nothing more than making people jealous! …
"Your Majesty... Your Highness... praise the Lord God! Thank you for your generous reward. I, Pap, will definitely compile the Olmec ancestral epic for you!"
The surrendered general Papu lowered his head silently, thinking for a long time, then respectfully fell to the ground and kowtowed twice. Then, he raised his head, with prayer and a rare clarity in his eyes.
"It's just that your humble servant Pappu has a small request..."
"Well, request? Pap, what else do you want, just ask for it? As a talent that I value, I will never begrudge property, slaves and beauties!..."
"Uh... Your Highness, I only need a little property and a few servants. Meiji can have two more, but it's too much to bear... As for my little request..."
General Pappu gritted his teeth, looked at His Highness's calm face, and spoke in a low voice.
"Witness the Lord God! Please lower me to one level... With my qualifications, I am definitely not qualified to be the fourth-level chief priest... Please let me be the third-level chief priest!..."
"Besides... before I compile the epic for you, please allow me to take the tribal warriors to Hidden Snake City... I have long been in contact with the gods in Hidden Snake City and promised to transport all their family members and belongings out. Go to the city...Your Highness, please give me ten days, and I will present you with the solid Hidden Snake City before the peak of the rainy season!..."
After hearing these two so-called "requests", Shulot raised his brows. He narrowed his eyes and looked at General Pappu for a while before asking in a deep voice.
"Papu, don't make so many detours!... Witness the Lord God! You want to lower your position and make contributions. What do you want? Speak out!..."
"The Lord God witnesses! Your Highness, I..."
General Papu hesitated for a moment, but then he was cruel. He lay on the dirt ground with his back to the burning bonfire, not daring to look at the expression on Shulot's face. He just gritted his teeth and begged frankly.
"Your Highness! I want real power, power that I can hold in my hands and protect myself!...I know that with my status as a defector all the way, it is actually difficult for me to be known to the public on this seaside land of Totonac. It is also difficult to truly gain a foothold in accepting the priests!…”
"O wise king! I am willing to use my talents for you to compile the epic of my ancestors... and after the epic is compiled, I am willing to join the kingdom's army to conquer the Mayan coast in the east for you... As for when everything is completed, I will only I hope that there will be a reliable foothold on the Mayan Coast in the east, with real security. This is my little wish!..."
"Real power? A reliable foothold, effectively guarded security?...Pap, you don't want to be my close minister...but you want to control an army, sit on one side, and even want a city-state as a fiefdom?!..."
"Your Highness! I...I dare not ask for a city-state fiefdom or become a prince of the kingdom...but it is indeed my foolish wish to conquer the border for you and defend one side..."
Hearing this, Shulot lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time. In this era, the future that heroes from all over the world pursue is never fame and fortune, promotion and wealth, nor is it writing books and biographies to be famous in history, but holding an army and truly taking charge of a country! As for the king, he must drive the heroes of the world to expand his territory as much as possible...
There was silence on the hillock. Papu lay prone on the ground, burying his forehead deeply in the soil and not daring to breathe. After a while, until the bright moon set over the western mountains and the dawn lit up in the eastern sky, Shulote sighed quietly and nodded slightly.
"The Lord God witnesses! Go, Pappu! Before the peak of the rainy season arrives, I want to see the Lord God's flag flying on the top of Hidden Snake City!..."
"And as long as you make enough contributions to the kingdom and open up enough territory!...The vast land of Maya will definitely have a place for you to establish...This is not only my promise to you, but also to all the generals. A promise...a king's promise!..."
"Ah! Praise the Lord God! Praise you! Under the wise, merciful and majestic God of Death!..."
The morning sun gradually rises, and the light comes from the east. The shadow of the mountains is cast to the west, and the black wolf's royal flag faces the rising sun. Under the shining royal banner, there is a king standing. His shadow was very long, and his face was shrouded in light, making people think of the golden sun. At the king's feet, there was a kneeling general. He clung to the ground, his head submerged in his own gray-black figure. That kind of prostrate posture resembles both a gray fox and a black wolf~
(End of chapter)
