Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The tides rise and fall, and the singing continues throughout the night. The following day in Feathered Serpent City, the sacred celebrations are still ongoing. Totonac nobility erect small altars in front of their manors, offering large bowls of gold grains, heaps of silver ingots, shining pearls, colorful shells, stacked flowers...and the gemstones most favored by the divine, especially turquoise, symbolizing wisdom and immortality.

"Eh? These gemstones...these green gemstones..."

The old militia widened his aged eyes, carefully observing the bustling market. Every New Year's celebration is also an auspicious day for markets in villages within dozens of miles, making it the busiest trading day in the city-state.

The vast majority of the city's wealth is concentrated in the hands of the Totonac nobility and priests. Their spending habits are the most extravagant. The nobility and priests direct their servants to lay down small bags of herbs, large bags of food, strips of salted fish, jars of sea salt, and seashells and pearls abundant by the seaside.

Then, they purchase exquisite Obsidian utensils from the Western alliance trading caravan, alongside inexplicable bronze tools and highly expensive yet rare bronze tools; from the Eastern Mayan merchants, they buy divine smoke from the rainforest and islands, alongside cotton fabrics from the northern Mayan states of Yucatan; from the southern Mixtec merchants, they acquire exquisite and luxurious gold and silver ornaments, and the costly feathers of the Chager Bird; and further south, from the Zapotecs, they purchase carmine dyes and yellow copper utensils produced in the Oaxaca Valley.

Of course, the most essential is still the purchase of a large number of precious gemstones from the kingdom fleet that comes from the far west!

"...various kinds of gemstones, huge gemstones, round gemstones, and everyone's beloved turquoise!...The gemstones of the Kingdom of the Lake will certainly not disappoint you!"

The Kingdom of the Lake fleet, having traveled two thousand miles, is selling in the coastal city-state. Their wooden shelters and stalls are crowded with the city-state's dignitaries, including Mixtec merchants adorned with silver ornaments, and Mayan merchants with elongated foreheads.

At this moment, the transactions at the kingdom's stalls are continuous, with immense activity. The coastal Totonac states seem like a large jewel funnel, no matter how many gemstones are shipped in, they are seized by the merchants of various states!

Seeing this scene, Tikalo shook his head. He meaningfully smiled at the old militia Chiwako.

"The great His Highness Xiulote is truly blessed by the divine! The Kingdom of the Lake can produce such a tremendous amount of gemstones, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds!...These Mayan merchants coming from the north of Yucatan, originally would bring Emeralds from Cuauhtēmallān, to sell to various tribes on the Mexican Plateau. However, under the impact of the massive amount of gemstones from the Kingdom of the Lake, not only do they no longer transport gemstones here, they even acquire gemstones in large quantities from here!..."

"Mm. The kingdom's gemstones, excellent!"

Chiwako scratched his head, nodding. During the last sea voyage, he vaguely guessed that the source of the kingdom's gemstones was probably not from mining but from some method, uh...divine revelation in manufacturing them.

Of the seven fully-loaded ships in the kingdom, besides essential food and liquor, one ship carries the scriptures and emblems of the Chief Divine, two ships are for spare planks and sails, two ships carry bronze tools, weapons, and armor, and two ships are entirely filled with various bags of "gemstones." This was precisely the amount given as travel expenses by Your Majesty before his departure, tons of it.

"Merchants from the two southern Cloud Tribes say that Lake gemstones are not mined. They are the result of a wicked transaction between the Kingdom of the Lake and a volcano demon! The kingdom offers human sacrifices, and the volcano demon generously reciprocates with gemstones. Behind every Lake gemstone lies a spirit devoured by a demon!"

The Mayan merchant Tikalo shook his bald head, laughing as he recounted the southern rumors, all the while scrutinizing the old militia's expression. The production volume of Lake gemstones is unrivaled, its quality stable, and its price affordable, dominating the entire gemstone market in Central America. However, the secret of Lake gemstones is a mystery that every merchant in the world longs to uncover. Even if such gemstones do indeed come from demonic sacrifices, they are undeniably real wealth!

"Mm...The kingdom's gemstones, bestowed by the Chief Divine, excellent!"

The old militia smiled but did not respond to the bald Maya. In front of the bald Mayan, he boldly scratched his head, tugged at his hair, and then asked with a smile.

"These merchants, buying so many gemstones, who are they selling them to?"

"Haha!"

Seeing the old militia's watertight response, Tikalo shook his head secretly and laughed aloud.

"Now, five thousand miles east to west, four thousand miles north to south, from the tribes of the Sakatekas Desert in the north to the rainforest tribes of Yucatan in the south, and the gemstone-producing forest tribes of Cuauhtēmallān, to the even more southeastern forest tribes of Solan...All the tribes in the world have become buyers of the Kingdom's gemstones!"

In the Mayan language, Cuauhtēmallān means "the place of many trees," which is known as Guatemala in later generations. Solan means the "place where quail abound," now known as Honduras.

"Five thousand miles east to west, four thousand miles north to south? All buying kingdom gemstones..."

Upon hearing this, the old militia widened his eyes. Imagining such a grand scene, where bags of gemstones are produced somewhere in the Kingdom of the Lake, then transported by countless kingdom and city-state trading fleets to the hands of nobles in various parts of the world. Meanwhile, global wealth flows the other way, into the bottomless Kingdom of the Lake, supporting innumerable armored warriors preparing for battle!

"Hahaha! On this voyage, His Highness wants us to head east five thousand miles, to Snake Island in the Eastern Sea. But in reality..."

At this, the Mayan merchant Tikalo's expression turned complex, and he sighed.

"In reality, the gemstones of the Kingdom of the Lake had already circulated on the island before the fleet and army's arrival!..."

The tides of people brought wealth through trade. The Kingdom Fleet stayed in Feathered Serpent City for another day, selling a small number of gemstones to fill the fleet's food storage.

Only then did the Totonac nobility in the city dispatch envoys to interact with the two expedition leaders, obtaining some gemstones as gifts. The old militia observed closely, sensing a subtle, faint hostility from the local nobility. After pondering over it, he inquired of Dark Snake, learning about the connections between the Tlaxcala nobility and the Totonac nobility, finally coming to a revelation.

"...Jaguar pounced towards the East, hunting Cloud Serpent in the mountains. The monkeys by the sea are clever, restlessly aware that the Jaguar will soon devour them. Yet, they stay high in the trees, some distance away, harboring a false sense of security, waiting to see others be eaten. Even if the monkeys bare their teeth and howl in discontent, they don't have the courage to bite the Jaguar directly, like the Cloud Tribe in the rainforest..."

"But in any case, the coastal Totonac people, devoutly believing in the Feathered Serpent Divine, are already at odds with the Mexica Alliance...We are also carrying so many gemstones; if we encounter bandits posing as City-State Warriors, as we did in Northern Tectos Tri-River City..."

The old militia keenly sensed potential danger. In this Feathered Serpent believing Totonac coastline, the Kingdom Fleet must avoid lingering too long in any one city-state. Without further delay, he made a decision!

When the new dawn arrived with the new day, the Kingdom Fleet set sail again. Their next target was Golden Bay City, one hundred sixty miles away. After a brief stop at Golden Bay City, they would travel for over ten days towards Hidden Serpent City, six hundred miles away! And from there, heading further East, lies the Maya!